GUNned Down
by Buccaneers6
Summary: Ryko finds out that his old enemy has returned! With Friends new and old, Ryko doesn't know who to trust. Who will help him defeat his old enemy?
1. Ares the Mesmer

**I don't own Sonic or Sega. Say hello to the new Bucc! I've improved alot and I hope I get more readers this time! Thanks!**

1. A Strange Turn of Events

Ares the Mesmer was looking over a hill, his top hat on his head, his bladed playing cards in his hand. He was presumed dead by G.U.N, but he had survived Ryko and that other pest.

"ARES!" Shouted a familiar voice.

Ares turned around to see Hades the Hedgehog walking towards him.

" Hades. An unexpected surprise. I thought you were dead all this time."

"I could say the same for you! Ryko may have failed, but this time I will finish the job that assassin barely started! Prepare to die, fool!" He charged Ares with flaming fist.

Ares flipped out his deck of cards and started throwing them and Hades. Hades dodged them all.

"You can't mesmerize me, hedgehog! You know that! Try with your cards all you want, but to kill me you'd have to do your tricks, which won't work!"

"Exactly. That would be why I'm leaving." He melted into the air and disappeared.

"I'm going to find Ryko and I'm going to teach him a few things he should have known before he foolishly believed someone like Ares was dead that quickly. He may be an assassin for G.U.N, but that doesn't mean he isn't a fool." He summoned his portal to the underworld and hopped through, transporting him to another location of his choosing.

_G.U.N Headquarters, 12:30 AM_

Ryko was only half awake. He had a new contract and he had to study it for a whole day. Everything was going as normal until a portal of fire opened in the room. A black hedgehog with a black muzzle and red eyes stepped out.

"Hello Ryko." He said.

Ryko pretty much thought he was dreaming so he didn't care about this guy until a fireball soared at his head. His instincts alone made him jump out of the way and take a battle stance.

"You aren't dreaming, Ryko. My name is Hades." He said.

"Obviously not. What else can you do that I don't know about? "Asked Ryko.

Hades' body burst into flame. Ryko could hear the heat cackle and feel it on his face.

"I'm not here to hurt you. I'm here to tell you some information you might need to know. "

"First a mentally unstable Echidna, now a pyromaniac Hedgehog? I love my job! What's next, Buccaneers6?"

"Don't break the forth wall in my presence! Ares the Mesmer could hear us! He could be here!"

"Are you mentally unstable as well? Ares the Mesmer is dead, I did the job last time we met. Besides, what's your proof?" Ares the Mesmer then appeared out of nowhere, his blade playing cards in his hand and ready to fly.

"Proof enough?" Asked Ares.

"… Wow. I coulda sworn… oh well, my Riddler rip-off, we meet again. Do me a favor and not tell the Commander about this? He doesn't like it when my targets resurrect themselves."

"I faked my own death, you idiot! Truly you are if you think that I truly perished. Well, I suppose the secret is out. Now Ryko, in the game of assassins, you just lost a life. I have presented myself; fighting you wouldn't do anything. So I leave wishing you to know this: watch your back!" He threw 3 bladed cards at Ryko before disappearing.

"Welcome back, Ares. Now, what is it you want, uh, Hades? Cool name, by the way." Said Ryko.

"I want Ares dead." Said Hades.

"Why, might I ask?" Asked Ryko.

"We know our demise, but not the hour. It is because of this that we experience fear. It all starts from a flame." A tiny flame appeared in his palm.

"Then it gets bigger. And bigger. And bigger. And bigger still. Until…" He was shooting a jet of fire now.

"It dies." The flame went out.

"You see, Ryko, as long as Ares remains alive, the flame still burns. People fear, and fear is the most dangerous enemy of all."

_Shade and Laoch's apartment, 2:43 AM_

Laoch's phone rang in the middle of the night. He reached for it slowly, then finally picked it up.

"What do you want, Ryko?"

"How did you know it was me?" Asked Ryko.

"Who else would call me at 3:00 in the morning?" Asked Laoch.

Ryko laughed a little before explaining.

"So, A pyrokinetic Hedgehog visited me in the middle of the night, who then told me that Ares the Mesmer was still alive. I didn't believe him until he appeared himself and attacked me before leaving again. Then the Hedgehog went into this proverb crap about fear and now I'm calling you." Ryko inhaled deeply.

"Stranger things have happened. Well, I can't help this time, big bro. Shade and I are getting married at Casino Night in a week, you will be there, right?"

"Of course."

"That, and the Nocturnus need help with a little something, on top of the fact that Tails crashed his Tornado and shattered the Master Emerald, which was powering the plane."

"Stranger things have happened." They both said at the same time. They started laughing.

"Well, I need sleep for tomorrow. Gotta go, big bro."

"See ya, Laoch."

_G.U.N Commander's Office, 12:00 PM_

"Ryko, you look terrible." Ryko was struggling to keep his eyes open.

"Sir, Ares isn't dead. I saw him last night." The commander's eyes widened.

"Well don't stand around here! Go-" He then saw what Ryko looked like. "Second thought, you could use some rest."

"Thank you, sir. I'll assure you I'll be on the hunt tomorrow." He walked out the door, hopped in his car, provided by G.U.N, because even thought he could run at 300 miles per hour he still required transport, and drove home.

_Ryko's House, 5:00 PM_

Ryko was sleeping soundly, having good dreams, when Team Chaotix burst through the ceiling.

"Wow, Bucc! This chapter is extremely random! How come you never did this to Laoch, I really could use some rest!"

Team Chaotix looked around a bit.

"Yea, we got the right place, Espio!"

"He had a front door, Vector." Said an annoyed Espio.

"But then we couldn't have interrupted his sleep!"

"Would you two shut up and tell me why you're here already!" Vector frowned.

"We found out that your friend's wedding is going to be sabotaged. They told me to come to you. We need your help."

'


	2. Revelations

**I don't own Sonic, Sega or the Elder Scrolls.**

2. Revelations

"So, we're in our office, if you could call it that, and somebody calls us on the phone. I've dealt with weird clients before, but this guy was crazy! He kept talking about this stuff and when I was about to stab myself with one of Espio's knives he told us. It's supposed to happen right around the time of the whole bride kissing thing. You are the best man, aren't you?"

"Yes, I am. That will give me an edge, but wouldn't Laoch not like it if I was armed?"

"Use hammerspace!"

"Oh yea! I'll put all my Guns in hammerspace. Is that okay, Bucc?"

"Fine by me." I said.

"Cool! Alright, here's the plan. Shall we get chaotic with Chaotix?"

_2 days before the wedding, 3:46 PM_

Ares was looking at the horizon. He'd always liked the horizon. It reminded him of home. It was the only thing of home he had remembered. The place where the sky ended.

"Apollo, whatcha got for me?" Ares Asked.

"We're going to crash the wedding and carry out the main plan, sir. We shall always do your bidding, Ares the Hedgehog."

"Please, call me Mesmer. What did you find out?"

"The wedding is at Casino Night. At around 9:00, the pastor, who happens to be Sonic himself, will get into the whole deal. Then, when they are about to be declared hedgehog and echidna, we jump out and ambush them!"

"That is the stupidest plan I've ever heard. You do realize that Knuckles, Tails, Shadow and Sonic are there? You do realize that Ryko is the best man and Laoch and Shade are there?"

"…"

"Thought so. Do whatever you want, as long as you do as I asked."

"Yes, my lord."

_Chaotix HQ, 5:30 PM_

"Would you stop playing Skyrim so we can get going with this plan, Vector?"

"Hold on, Alduin's health has gotta go down sometime! Plus, Charmy just passed my level and there's no way I'm gonna take that!" Alduin then blasted his character with fire, and the standard death cam showed.

"HA!" Shouted Ryko.

"What do you know about Skyrim anyway!" grumbled Vector.

"Well, I'm a level 60 Dark Elf who's beaten the main storyline and even the four guilds, not to mention the Potema quest." Vector gaped in amazement.

"You beat the Potema quest! I can't get past the part with the Draugr-"

"For crying out loud, Bucc, some people here have never played the Elder Scrolls games! Just because you're a fan girl doesn't mean that you can include this stuff in your story!" Ryko then got struck by lightning.

"But I can include that in my story. Also, Vector uses mods." I said.

"I do not!"

"Yea ya do." Said an amused Espio.

"Anyways, when Shade and Laoch are about to get married, there's probably gonna be an ambush. Then we execute the plan. If this goes right, then we will be able to save the day and the unmarried girls at the wedding will be totally into me."

"Alright stud, we can think about this later. The wedding is in 2 days. Go and get the supplies so we can make this happen." Said Espio.

_Iron Jungle, 6:00 PM_

Ryko was leisurely walking through the iron jungle when a flame portal opened and Hades walked through.

"Ryko."

"Hades."

"Ryko, have you got any more information on Ares? The public will know about him tomorrow at the least."

"No, but his worshippers plan to sabotage my brother's wedding."

"Ryko. By superhuman effort, you can avoid slipping backwards for a while. But one day, you'll lose a step, or drop a beat, or miss a detail, and you'll be gone forever. You need to know this to defeat Ares! He exploits your fear."

"Hey, I've been going through a lot the past three days!"

"Okay, so you've done things the hard way. But without taking risks, without taking responsibility for failure… how could you have understood? Think about it." He hopped into his portal and went away.

Ryko sighed.

"I've learned a lot about Mobius… and myself. It's hard to believe how ignorant I was, but now I have so much to learn." He ran off.

_The, uh, Underworld. Do they have a sense of time?_

Hades was looking around him. Nothing but flames. Burning flames. He felt at home.

"Ares. I know you can hear me. Listen. I, or Ryko, will take you down. He failed. I failed. But we won't. Not anymore. Because failure can happen once. But as soon as you realize your failure, you understand what happened all the more clearer. And because of this, you see the mistake you made. I made the mistake of letting you live. And this time, my mistake will not happen again." He stepped into his portal and headed for Mobius once more.

_An undisclosed location, 9:00 PM_

"Ares."

Ares turned to see Hades once again.

"I heard you, Hades. If you say that failure can't happen again, then why don't we find out?"

"I'm not fighting you. I'm just here to say that I'm not afraid of you, nor will I ever be. I'm not afraid of anything. And I hope you overcome your worst nightmare in the future."

"And what would that be?" Asked Ares. Hades teleported via underworld, their noses practically touching. His whole body combusted, the flames a bright white this time. The heat could have melted Ares' face.

"Me."

He quickly left, leaving Ares stunned.

_Wedding day, Casino Night, 10:20 AM_

Ryko had just entered the building.

"I look terrible in a suit." He thought aloud.

"You sure do." Said a familiar voice behind him.

"Hey, little bro. Never thought I'd see the day! Where's Shade?"

"I don't know. Anyway, do you know the best man procedures?"

"Yep. Stand there with a giant smile on your face, your hands behind your back looking at the groom."

"Perfect. See ya at nine. Wanna play some hold'em while we wait?"

"Nah, I gotta go through all this groom crap. Thanks for the invite, I'll empty your pockets tonight." He walked away. Espio appeared out of nowhere.

"The traps are set. Let's get chaotic."


	3. The Wedding

**I Don't own Sonic or Sega.**

3. The Wedding

Ryko was standing next to Laoch, his arms behind his back and smiling. It was then that Shade came down the aisle in a wedding dress and stood across from Laoch. Sonic droned on and on and on until finally he got right where Ryko wanted him.

"Do you, Shade, take Laoch…"

Ryko was thinking. Any moment, Espio…

"And Laoch do you…"

Ryko's heart was beating faster and faster by the second.

"Then you may-"

Multiple people jumped out from all directions. Ryko pulled out two AK-47s(one of his favorites) and held them at bay. Espio materialized out of thin air and Vector and Charmy came down from the ceiling. Shade and Laoch were too stunned to speak.

"It seems." Began Ryko, smiling.

"We've come to an impasse." Somebody, a blue Echidna who had to be the leader, frowned.

"Boss isn't gonna be happy about this." It was then Ryko opened fire, but what came out of the AKs weren't bullets. Tranquilizer darts flew out, hitting a few of the marauders, and Team Chaotix knocked out a few. Hades opened a portal and took out the rest. When they were all down Ryko turned his head towards Laoch and Shade.

"Kiss the bride, already."

_Casino Night Bachelor Party, 7:30 PM_

"You only have Team Chaotix, Sonic, an unwilling Shadow, Tails, and me. What a party. Oh, hi Hades." Hades was approaching them.

"The only reason that Ares tried to do this was because he wanted to instill fear in you. You handled this extremely well. He didn't faze you all."

"Alright, Hades. Why. Why are you so interested in me? It isn't for the people, the greater good, or it isn't for Ares' death. Why me?"

"I knew your father." That shut the whole room up. Nobody, except Laoch's dad, knew who was dead, knew Ryko's father, not even himself. Ryko stared at him for a few minutes before breaking the silence.

"I… I'm leaving. Have fun, Laoch." He walked out the door. Laoch turned to Hades. Hades noted his attire. Some sort of futuristic armor, but it was sleeveless. He had black gloves.

"Do you always wear that?"

"That doesn't matter. How old are you? You look eighteen. How did you know Ryko's father?"

"Physically, I'm eighteen. But I've been here since the beginning of time. I'm no god, no higher power. I've lived through everything, I've seen it all. Failure, triumph. I know what happens to people in this world. Everyone was the same. They never learned from mistakes. Ryko's father was different. He never feared anything; nothing could faze him. You could kidnap his wife, you could tie him up in a completely dark room for 2 weeks, nothing scared him. He didn't just learn from his mistakes; he capitalized on them. He saw a bad technique, he still used it. But he modified it so the mistake was the thing that gave him strength. For him, there isn't a thing called original. No such thing as a technique. There was only a 1,000 ways to do it wrong. But there were 1,000 ways to do it the right way. Ryko carries the same trait. He is cocky, a little arrogant, but he backs it up every time you see him. 120%, every single time. He is the only one that can defeat Ares; the only one that can extinguish the flame." He stepped through his portal and left.

"Weirdest. Wedding. Ever." Said Vector.

_A tree in a forest, 8:00 PM_

Ryko was leaning against a tree. In a forest. He was thinking hard. He hated Hades, with all his heart, at that very moment. But then he thought. Why? Why should he? Hades then appeared as if on cue.

"I'm not good with people. I've seen thousands of years of emotions, and yet… I have none. I can't relate to you or anybody else on Mobius. I don't know how you feel. All I can say is that I'm sorry. I don't know what people feel. It's helpful to be blessed with my power, but this… this is a curse. I'm sorry."

To Ryko, this meant everything in the world to him. Hades, of all people?

"Oh, and Sonic wanted to tell you that he's in the derby tomorrow." Ryko smiled.

"The Mobian Derby?" The Mobian Derby is an event looked forward to by all Mobians. Since hedgehogs are so fast, Mobius gathers up 13 and sets them up in a race. All hedgehogs are eligble. Ryko's dream was to compete, but his work denied him.

"What are his odds?"

"3-1"

"That's the lowest in history!" Ryko had kept track the year he started watching.

"Well, he gave you front row tickets. He handed them to him.

"Aren't you going?" Hades, probably the for the first time in 10,000 years, smiled.

"I don't need tickets to watch.

_Front row at the Mobian Derby, 2:00 PM_

"I wonder why Bucc picked this concept." Wondered Laoch.

"Well, the Kentucky Derby was today, and he bet on Bodemiester and lost, thanks to I'll Have Another. That could be it." Said Shade.

"Pretty Much." I said.

"Welcome to the Mobian Derby! "

"Yep, and look, here comes Scourge! The cocky and arrogant Anti-Sonic who has every right! With odds of 5-1, he knows he can get the job done! But the question is, can he beat this hedgehog with the lowest odds in history!"

Sonic had his regular shoes on, but everything was black, including the strap and buckle. His gloves were black too, and his name was etched on the side in white. He was wearing jet black sunglasses. The crowed was going insane.

"I just received word that those shoes are available in the gift shop! I'm gonna go buy them!"

"This just in, my broadcast partner just abandoned me on live TV for a pair of shoes. The hedgehogs are lining up on the starting gate… wait, we, have a new entry? Did I hear that right? If my ears aren't deceiving me I believe I just heard that Shadow the Hedgehog is in the building and awaiting a number! But we already have thirteen- no, we have twelve! It was reported that a hedgehog named Osiris was supposed to race, but was somehow hurt! We didn't even notice it but somebody did and is capitalizing. What? Ladies and gentlemen, I have just received word that Shadow's odds are also 3-1! We'll be back after a 1 day commercial break! Thanks, Buccanners6!


	4. The Mobian Derby

**I don't own Sonic or Sega.**

4. The Mobian Derby

"And welcome back, folks, form our 1 day commercial break! Now we will release the contestant card.

1. Scourge the Hedgehog, Odds: 5-1

2. Secretariat the Hedgehog (What kind of name is that?) Odds: 4-1

3. Sham the Hedgehog, Odds: 50-1

4. Sonic the Hedgehog, Odds: 3-1 (Broken Record)

5. Omaha the Hedgehog (Seriously! We aren't horses!), Odds: 19-1

6. Whirlaway the Hedgehog (What?), Odds: 45-1

7. Assault the Hedgehog (That just scares me!) Odds: 50-1

8. Citation the Hedgehog (This is getting ridiculous!), Odds: 6-2

9. Affirmed the Hedgehog (Bucc! Are you just looking up winners of the Triple Crown?) Odds: 18-1

10. Rob O' The Hedge, Odds: 50-1

11. Hephaestus the Hedgehog (Sure, pull the Greek god card!), Odds: 9-1

12. Poseidon the Hedgehog, Odds: 14-2

13. Shadow the Hedgehog, Odds: 3-1(Broken Record)

"And that is the list! And look at this Secretariat, this brown hedgehog was actually born into the racing business and is supposed to be fast, with the second lowest odds in history! If you haven't noticed, every sentence I say ends with an exclamation mark! The hedgehogs are lining up at the starting gate! Get ready for the fasted 2 minutes in Mobian history!" The gates flew open.

"And Sonic breaks last, but he's running full speed! Using all of his energy and blowing the pack away! Shadow is in the very back, wonder why! Secretariat in close second, following the fastest thing alive and his awesome shoes! In third is Scourge and gaining second! The second turn and Sonic is at least 12 lengths ahead of the rest of the pack! Shadow is still in last! Secretariat falls victim to fatigue and is slowly moving to the back of the pack! Sonic now 11 lengths ahead! Shadow is still falling behind in last, I feel sorry for anybody who betted on him! The second stretch seems like it goes on forever, but they go along the forth turn and Sonic is 9 lengths ahe- what's this? Shadow is weaving in and out of the fatigued hedgehogs, Shadow passes Scourge! Sonic only 2 lengths ahead of Shadow at 200 yards! 100 yards! Sonic only a length ahead, not even! 50 and there neck and neck! Andddddddd." It appeared that Sonic and Shadow crossed the finish line at the same time.

"I swear, if Sonic lost…" Began Ryko. Sonic rushed up to them and sat down next to Ryko.

"Whew! That really takes everything outta ya! Shadow was really smart to do that, I didn't see that coming! I had the lead and out of the corner of my eye…"

On the screen, a slow motion camera was playing that was position so that the racers feet could be seen. When they appeared, Sonic's foot had touched the finish line a millisecond before Shadow's and the thing played in a loop. The crowd went insane. Sonic gave a relieved sigh and hopped over the barrier.

"Ryko, how did you get time off to see this?" Asked Laoch. Ryko smiled.

"This _is _your bachelor party, isn't it?" Laoch returned the smile.

"Yea, it is, watching my friends run in a circle for money." They both laughed.

"Alright folks, standing in the winner's circle are Sonic, Shadow and Secretariat for show! It is my pleasure to introduce your winner for this year, Soniiicccccc the Hedgehoooogggg!"

Sonic smiled and tilted his head back, receiving a giant trophy. He turned to Shadow and offered his hand. Shadow looked him in the eyes and nodded, stepping of the pedestal for second and walking away.

"That was a look of respect right there! Let's give it up for Shadow the Hedgehog for creating the most controversial Mobian Derby in years! That was something, I was convinced that Shadow had beat out Sonic! I just received the place list, here it is!"

1. Sonic the Hedgehog

2. Shadow the Hedgehog

the Hedgehog

4. Scourge the Hedgehog

5. Sham the Hedgehog

6. Poseidon the Hedgehog

7. Whirlaway the Hedgehog

8. Affirmed the Hedgehog

9. Assault the Hedgehog

10. Hephaestus the Hedgehog

11. Citation the Hedgehog

12. Omaha the Hedgehog

13. Rob O' The Hedge

"Sweet! I'm gonna go cash in my card!" Said Ryko.

Sonic and Shadow sat down next to Laoch and Shade, Shadow taking Ryko's seat.

"Hmph. I still could have beat you, Sonic."

"Yea right, faker! I totally owned you!"

"Owned me? You beat me by a toe! Literally!"

"Yea, whatever. I beat ya, Shadow ol' buddy, and I hope you show up for the Acorn Stakes! Being held by SSSaaalllyyy! And I'm gonna beat you in front of her to prove how awesome I am!" This went back and forth until Ryko came back with 2,000 rings.

"Yea! I almost made more money than I do when I play cards with Laoch!" Laoch gave a friendly punch on the shoulder.

"Well thanks guys! I appreciate you for coming!" Said Sonic.

"Hmph." Said Shadow

_Undisclosed Location, 2:30 PM_

Ares just got done watching the derby. He smiled.

"I can imagine it right now. The announcer's hand trembling when he reads my name on the card of the Acorn stakes! Then everyone will know that I am very much alive, and fear will seep into these citizens again! But that's next month. For now…"

_Mobian Downs parking lot, 2:30 PM_

Ryko was about to hop in his 1964 Shelby Cobra when Hades appeared out of a portal of fire.

"That hedgehog really is the fastest thing alive."

"Yep. Well, I gotta report G.U.N that my vacation is over-"

"Ryko. Stay strong. For me, for Mobius."

Ryko stood there for a moment. He looked straight at Hades, looked into his eyes.

"I always have."

He hopped into his car and drove off.

_G.U.N Headquarters. 3:00 PM_

"Great, your back. Listen, all contracts are being put aside for now. Ares the Mesmer is your number one priority. I heard you went to the Derby."

"Yes, sir."

"Hope you had fun, but it's time for business now. This man is a threat to Mobius and he must be exterminated. Understand?"

"Yes Sir."


	5. Evaluation Day

**I don't own Sonic or Sega.**

5. Evaluation Day

"Ryko, it's evaluation day."

"Really? I thought that was next month."

"Well, too bad. We've got everything set up."

"Of course. I'll go on down to the room,"

Ryko didn't tell anybody, but he loved evaluation day. It was where all members of G.U.N went through various combat situations and will be graded. Ryko got the highest grade every year and the commander always tried to throw something else in his way.

"Okay Ryko. We'll be giving you various items that you may or may not know how to use. You will receive one to begin with and numerous others on pedestals. When you begin a certain test, the pedestals will shoot out of the floor and a weapon will be on top. You may take them all, but remember, you may only have time to take one. The situations we put you in are completely random each year-"

"And we will not be responsible for injury and or death on any situation whatsoever. Just bring me to my room, Commander."

"Not before you get your first weapon."

The commander tossed Ryko something. Ryko caught it with his left hand.

"Brass knuckles?"

"Look closer."

Ryko found a button on the middle finger of the knuckles. He hit it and 2 knives flew out both sides of the knuckles. Ryko whistled.

"Can I keep these?"

"They cost money."

"How much?"

"About 1,000 rings."

"I'll take two."

_Test One, 4:30 AM_

"This simulation will test how well you react in a dangerous situation."

"Goody."

7 hedgehogs flew out of nowhere and three pedestals shot out of the floor. On one was a rubix cube; Ryko picked it up and solved it just because he could; another was some throwing knives and the last was a SIG Sauer. Ryko picked up the throwing knives and threw them at two of the hedgehogs, which fell dead(simulation dead, Ryko thought). He took out two more with the knives and picked up the Sauer. He shot two more and dropped the gun. He leapt in the air and nailed him in the face with his knuckles. When the hedgehog was on the ground, he extended the knives and finished him. The 'hedgehogs' slowly deteriorated and the holograms vanished away. Ryko looked around. A rather attractive female hedgehog was going over some paper work.

"Took them all out… solved that rubix cube, even though that was supposed to be a joke… used a wide variety of weapons… A+, I gotta say."

"Alright sweetheart, I know I'm awesome, let's just get on to the next test, please."

"The name is Sadie, thank you very much."

"Yea, whatever, Katie, let's just go."

_Test Two, 4:50 AM_

"Okay, Ryko, this simulation will evaluate how well you can break into places that are locked. When the test starts you-"She looked up wide-eyed.

Ryko was holding the lock in his hand, and the lock behind the first one in his other hand.

"Did you just do that without any lockpicks?"

"Did you check your back pocket?"

She reached into her back pocket. Where she knew she had kept some picks to give to this hedgehog were now gone. She turned around and Ryko held them in his hand.

"You can't do that!"

"I can't? According to the G.U.N codex, section 1.123 states that during an evaluation, one may use any means necessary to achieve your goal. If you want, you may call the commander."

She flipped out her cell phone and dialed a number.

"Yes commander, he stole the picks from me and used them… what? That's acceptable? Urrrgghhh…" She hung up the phone.

"A+"

"I know."

"How do you get everything done when you're a cocky, arrogant weasel?"

"There isn't a thing called cocky and arrogant when you can back up everything you say."

"And how can you do that?"

"What time is it?"

She instinctively checked her left wrist, but her watch was gone.

"Never mind, I got it."

Her watch was on Ryko's left wrist now. She could have exploded.

"Do I get extra credit for that?"

"I SWEAR TO THE GODS I'M ABOUT TO-"

"Sadie!" The commander's voice rang through the room.

"Keep yourself in check. Ryko, give her her watch back."

"I already did, Commander." Her watch was back on her wrist.

_Test Three,5:00 AM_

"In this evaluation we'll test how well you do under pressure. There is a citizen behind that door. There also is a bomb behind that door, which detonates in a minute. Ready? Go."

Three pedestals shot up from the ground. On them was the other knuckleduster he'd bought, which he took, another rubix cube, which he solved, and a Barrett 50. Caliber, fully loaded. Ryko smiled and took the Barrett before taking the secret hatch that no one else had noticed upward. He found the bomb and disabled it. Three thugs came out from nowhere and started to attack the citizen. Ryko took them all out with his Barrett and slipped down the hatch.

Sadie was absolutely stunned. She had never seen that hatch and Ryko had done that whole operation with 32 seconds to spare.

"I don't even know where he is right now." She thought aloud.

"Right behind ya, sweetheart." Sadie could have jumped out of her chair.

"Who… who are you?" She asked. Ryko smiled.

"The guy who just got straight A+'s on his report card this year… again."

"I hate you."

"I've noticed."

_G.U.N Commander's Office, 5:05 AM_

"He aced it again?"

"Yes, sir."

"You amaze me every time I see you, Ryko. You remind me of-" He stopped in mid-sentence, like he did every time he was about to say the word.

"My father, sir. I know."

The commander was stunned. He didn't think Ryko even knew anything about his father. Sadie watched with interest.

"Well, you're still the best on the force, kid."

"I'm seventeen."

"Whatever. Good job grading him, kid."

"I'm also seventeen, sir."

"Dear god. Do your glasses still work, Ryko?"

"I never wore those, sir."

The commander was stunned again. Ryko wore jet black sunglasses just below his bright silver eyes 24/7. What only he and the commander knew was that these were basically a pair of robotic eyes.

"So you never put those on when I gave them to you?"

"I never needed them."

"So you saw the hatch-"

"Without those things? Yes commander, I always have."

"You're amazing."

"Thank you, sir."

Ryko was walking out the door when Sadie caught up to him.

"Hey!" Ryko turned around.

"Yea?"

"Sorry about what happened back there-"

Don't worry about it. See ya later." He hopped in his Cobra and drove off.

"I hope so." She muttered under her breath.


	6. On the Hunt

**I don't own Sonic or Sega.**

6. On the Hunt

Ryko drove up in his '64 Cobra, his sunglasses slightly below his eyes, as usual. He hopped out of the car and walked towards G.U.N headquarters. The commander had asked for a meeting today, and he had a feeling it had something to do with Ares. The conversation was supposed to be secret. He walked into the building. Sadie was writing something down to his left.

"Ey, Sadie."

"Hi, Ryko. Where ya goin'?"

"To the commander's office." He walked off.

The commander's office? Hmmm… , Thought Sadie. She wondered what they could be talking about. The commander called him 'the best in the force' the other day. She didn't even know what he did here. Curiosity won and she quickly followed him. He walked through the door. She leaned up close and put her ear on the door.

"Hello, Ryko."

"Sup, Commander."

"I need to talk to you about that contract."

"You can say his name, Commander."

"Fine. I'm here to talk about Ares."

Sadie froze in fear. They couldn't possibly be talking about…

"Do you know where Ares is?"

"Does anyone?"

Sadie, like the rest of the world, thought Ares to be dead.

"Well, you need to find him. You're our only assassin."

Sadie went wide-eyed. Ryko was an assassin? No wonder he was so good! But assassins don't need to pickpocket people…

"Don't worry, I'll do it Commander."

"Alright. If you don't find him in the next 72 hours, tell me."

"Yes sir."

Sadie was listening to see if anything else would be said. When nothing was spoken she turned around only to see Ryko standing an inch from her face.

"Curious one, aren't we?"

"How did you-"

"The commander and I record our conversations beforehand. When I walk into his office I go out the back door and come around. I've never caught anybody before… until today."

"So you're an assassin, and your target happens to be Ares the Mesmer, who for 10 years everybody thought was dead."

"Correct."

"And if you don't find any info on the dude's whereabouts in three days you have to tell him of your failure."

"Correct."

"I'm also assuming _you_ were the assassin that killed Ares a few years back."

"Correct."

A long silence took place.

"This is awkward."

"Indeed."

Ryko looked at her. She was sleek white, and she wore her hair naturally, unlike most female hedgehogs who used a headband. She was wearing tactical combat boots and gloves like Ryko's with straps on the sides.

"I won't tell anybody about this… if you let me go on this mission with you."

"Sure."

That surprised Sadie. She was thinking she'd get a no-way-it's-to-dangerous response.

"Just a warning though, you might bump into my friend Hades."

"Who's that?" Ryko smiled.

"You'll see for yourself."

The went outside and Ryko hopped in his cobra.

"Get in."

"Where did you get this?"

"I bought it."

"But these things cost-"

"About 2,000,000 rings? Trust me, I know."

"How did you get enough money?"

"I get paid 4,000,000 rings a year."

"I only get paid 1,000,000!"

"You aren't G.U.N's only assassin. Get in."

Sadie hopped in the back seat. Ryko raised an eye.

"You're sitting in the back?"

"I didn't know if-"

"You get an opportunity to ride in a '64 Cobra and you open the door and get in the _back?_"

"But-"

"Just hop in the front seat."

She did as told and they drove off. She couldn't help but smile as they sped down the highway.

_Central City, 3:00 PM_

It didn't take very long before Hades burst through a portal of fire. Sadie shook so hard she jumped. Ryko started laughing.

"Hey, I warned you about him."

Hades studied her closely.

"I'm assuming you're-"

"Your mother was Aelia."

Sadie froze. Ryko looked amused.

"We have more in common than I thought, sweetheart."

"What, you didn't have a mother?"

"Daddy."

Hades was still watching her.

"Your mother was outgoing, tough… and scared of everything she saw."

"Gee, really?" Said Ryko sarcastically.

"I'm assuming you're looking for Ares?"

"Yes, we are. What were you doing?"

"The same. I've managed to locate him."

"Kind enough to share?"

"He's working from an abandoned base of Eggman's."

"Why wouldn't he?" Alright Sadie, let's go."

As they were walking around, a figure jumped from the trees."

"Sup, Ryko."

Ryko looked very annoyed. Standing in front of them was a purple hedgehog, just like Ryko, although she was female and was wearing a headband.

"Finally got a girlfriend, huh?"

"What are you doing here?"

"Your sister?" Asked Sadie. Ryko nodded.

"This is Nikki. She's a freedom fighter."

Nikki nodded, a smile on her face.

"Thought I'd swing by. And who would this be? Another G.U.N agent?"

"Sadie."

"Say Nikki, I've got a friend who hasn't met you yet. Oh Hades!"

The portal appeared and out came Hades. He looked at Nikki.

"You have your Dad's eyes."

Nikki froze.

"How did you know him?"

"He knows everything. Well, now that we have a group, sis, we should get going. Hop in the car, everybody! Well, you don't need to, Hades."

_Eggman Base, 5:30 PM_

Ares was smiling. Nikki was leading them right into the trap! This was easy. He preferred challenges, but these days it didn't seem like there were many. He shrugged and picked up his cell phone.

"Apollo? They're coming soon. Take up your formation. Nikki's brought us our catch of the day."

_Ryko's Car, 5:00 PM_

"I have to sit in the back seat?" Asked Nikki.

"Yep. Tough break, sis. Sadie has shotgun."

"So, tell me about yourself Nikki." Nikki shrugged.

"Not much to say. I joined the freedom fighters when I was twelve and for the past five years I've been, well, fighting for freedom."

"How did you and Ryko get that purple color?"

"My dad was red and my mom was blue. You get purple."

"Ah."

"Weren't your parents both white in color?"

"Nah, one was green and one was orange. I'm an albino."

Ryko noted that she had red eyes.

"Well, that's pretty cool"

"So they say."

"Well, we're here."

"This looks like the perfect place for a trap."

Nikki Smiled.


	7. Ares, Hades, and Other Problems

**I don't own Sonic or Sega.**

7. Ares, Hades, and Other Problems

"Well, were here. I guess we can-"

Ryko didn't get far before a cage fell on him and Sadie. Ares appeared shortly after.

"My sister set me up. Sadie, if you don't mind not telling anybody about this…"

"Shut up, Ryko! Please! This isn't exactly what I came here for!" Ares smiled.

"I paid your sister a large sum of money. She obliged. A sad mistake."

"What's that supposed to mean-" Began Nikki, but a cage fell on her too.

"I only want Ryko,girls. We should probably leave this conversation to ourselves."

Glass cases, soundproof, thought Ryko, slammed down on the cages.

"What do you want, Ares?"

"All I want is for you to send a message to the commander. After that, I promise I'll let you go."

Sadie was banging her hands on the cage, and her mouth was moving. Ryko could read lips, and what she was saying wasn't exactly Sadie-ish.

"What is it?"

Ares smiled.

"Mobian palace, 7:00."

The cages flew open, except for Nikki's.

"Do you want Nikki?"

"Keep her."

They left with Nikki kicking the cage repetitively.

They were just outside when a portal of fire opened, this time accompanied by a swirling portal of darkness. Two hedgehogs stepped out. The first was Hades, easily recognizable. The other looked a lot like him, with three differences. The first was that he was wearing two glowing bracelets. The second was that his eyes, unlike Hades' dark red, were pure black. The third was, unlike Hades' white fur, his fur was black.

"Who might this be?"

"This is my brother, Anubis."

Ryko noticed that Hades looked terrible. He was pale, if possible for a hedgehog with black fur. His eyes were bloodshot and he looked much older. Anubis read his mind.

"My brother is weak. We don't know why, but in three days' time he will be unable to sustain himself. We have found a solution, but I doubt you'll like it… explain, brother."

"If I can get a host to contain my essence, I can grow to strength and be normal in a few days' time. You are the only one I trust. If I can't find another host, I'll fade into the underworld and it will take me eons to come back here. You don't have to, but…"

"In three days, come see me, Anubis. I'd be happy to."

"Ryko!"

"He'll die! And plus… he means a lot to me. I'm not letting this happen. But I can't do it now. I've got a party to attend to tonight with Sadie."

"What?" Asked Sadie.

"I've figured out what Ares said. Hades, how long will it be?" Hades shrugged. He was obviously in pain. Ryko hated to see him like this.

"I can't say. You must be careful, though. Don't use my power and yours to become corrupt, it happens to even the most kind hearted people. Stay strong, Ryko." They both vanished.

"What have I got myself into?"

"Damn right! Ryko, this is crazy."

"I know. But I'm his only friend in this world, and I've depended on him. He needs to depend on someone else for the first time, and I'm here for him. Anyway, The Mobian ball is tonight at 7. Ares must be there."

"Don't you need a date to get in?" Ryko smiled.

"Yes, I do. Better find something to wear, sweetheart, because you just got invited to the Mobian ball."

_G.U.N Recreational Facility, 6:00 PM_

Being a member of G.U.N was a stressful job. Because of this, they made a recreational facility with different activities. Ryko headed towards the music room, which no one ever went to. He was the only one who played an instrument. He walked up to the room and noticed somebody else was in there. Strange. He opened the door quietly and was surprised to find it was none other than Sadie. And her voice…

"_She's got eyes like the bluest skies, as If they thought of rain_

_I'd hate to look into those eyes and see an ounce of pain._

_It reminds me of that one safe place where as a child I'd hide_

_And prey for the thunder and the rain to quietly pass me by."_

Sadie turned around to see Ryko gaping at her. They both said it at the same time.

"What are you doing here!"

"That was beautiful." Said Ryko

"Oh, shut up!"

"I'm serious! I've never heard anybody sing like that in my life! Why haven't you come here before?"

Sadie got a little less mad.

"This is my first time. Why are you here?"

"I, er, um, play the electric violin." Sadie couldn't help laughing.

"You of all people play the _violin_?"

Ryko took out his violin and started playing the opening riff to 'Sweet Child O' Mine'

"I learned this because my dad played it."

"Oh."

"Ya know, playing music does help stress. Come on, sing."

"No."

"Yes."

"No."

"Yes."

"No."

"Yes."

"Fine."

They played and sang for a little while to different songs.

"Was that too hard, sweetheart?"

"Says Mozart."

"Make all the jokes you want. It's business time now. I need to get ready."

"Why did you say music helps stress back there?" Ryko sighed.

"It's about-"

"Hades."

"Yea. I just don't know what's gonna happen."

"Forget about that. Let's get ready. Pick me up at 6:00."

"Sure."

_Sadie's house, 6:00 PM_

Ryko drove up in a 3rd generation Mercedes-Benz C216. It was his luxury car… with a few SAM's and a machine gun in the hood.

"Are you ready yet? We need to get going, whatever Ares is planning-"

"In a minute!" Ryko grunted.

He was tapping his foot in the driveway when Sadie's voice spoke behind him.

"Nice car."

"Thaaaaa…"

Sadie was wearing an elegant pink dress some high heels.

"What?" Ryko shook his head.

"Nothing. Hop in." Sadie smiled.

Gotcha, she thought.

_Mobian Palace,7:00 PM_

Ryko drifted into the parking lot of the palace.

"You drive like a…" The rest of the words Sadie said were so profane it would have given this story an M rating.

"Colorful language."

"Let's just go."

When they walked in the door, a familiar voice to Ryko, not Sadie, spoke behind them.

"You're here? Crap, this must be a death trap." Ryko's face lit up.

"Laoch!"


	8. Battle Royal, Laoch and Ryko

**I don't own Sonic, Sega, or the Terminator series.**

8. Battle Royal, Laoch and Ryko.

They embraced.

"What are you doing here?"

"Me and Shade were invited… better question. What are you doing here?"

Ryko filled him in on everything, excluding the whole Hades thing.

"I could really use some help."

"You got it. And who's this?"

"This is my date, Sadie."

Sadie blushed fiercely.

"Hi, Sadie. I'm Laoch, Ryko's best friend."

"The one caught up in that whole 'Echidna' business?"

"Yep, that's me. Where's Shade? I haven't seen her since we got here."

Shade approached and Ryko reintroduced everybody and told the story again.

"Alright. Sadie, shall we search the palace? This is like that scene from Ghost Protocol." The both left.

"So, somebody finally landed a date." They both started laughing.

"I don't really know what she thinks of me, but…"

"No more said, brother. We should search the palace."

They started looking around when time stopped, literally. Laoch froze, and Ryko was left wondering what just happened when a familiar voice spoke behind him.

"He isn't doing well, Ryko."

"Anubis. You can freeze time?" Anubis rolled his eyes.

"I can kill with the point of a finger. This is one of the first times I've communicated with a mortal. Hades may like meddling in your affairs, but I have business to take care of in the afterlife. Ryko, it isn't looking very good for Hades, at all. He's still my brother, however foolish he may be, and I care about him. Ryko sighed.

"Tomorrow."

"You're a good person. So is Laoch."

"Thank you, Anubis. By the way, what is it like to be a host for you guys?"

"Here"

Ryko felt a searing pain in his body. His vision doubled. He went down to one knee until the pain stopped. He opened his eyes, which were now pure black, Anubis' cuffs on his wrist.

"This is what it feels like." Said a combined voice of Ryko and Anubis.

They were sharing each other's thoughts. Anubis then appeared back where he was and Ryko went back to normal.

"That was… weird."

"That was what it will feel like. I must go now. Happy hunting."

He disappeared and time resumed.

"What just happened?"

"Oh… nothing. Let's keep looking."

They searched more but couldn't find Ares in any of the rooms.

"Weird. This guy sure is efficient."

"Yea, I guess so."

"So… we go back to Sadie."

"No, we don't."

"Oh, come on. I'm your brother, buddy."

"I already told you what I felt back there."

"That was a mere hint."

"And the only one you'll get. We need to keep looking before he scares the crap outta everybody."

"Hey, you gonna compete in the stakes tomorrow?"

"As Hades?"

"What?"

"Never mind."

"There's something you aren't telling me."

"There's always something I'm not telling you." They laughed again.

"Where could that dude be?" Anubis jumped out of his portal, literally.

"Now!"

"What? No, I said-"

"Now, he's going to die, Ryko!" He looked worried.

Ryko didn't know what to say, but he finally found it.

"Alright." Anubis began chanting and incantation. He felt the same feelings he did when he hosted Anubis. He opened his eyes, and had all the knowledge in the world.

"Ryko? You're eyes…" It was Hades who smiled.

"I know where our friend is."

_Mobian Palace Balcony, 8:00_

Ares smiled. Ryko had to be here, and his annoying girlfriend too. The stakes were tomorrow, of course; Right across the street at Acorn Stadium. He heard someone approach and whipped around, throwing a playing card in the process. Hades incinerated it in a column of fire.

"Ryko?"

His eyes were a bright orange, a combination of Hades' Red and Ryko's Silver. The Sunglasses beneath his eyes were tainted a dark red. His fur went from dark purple to a darker purple.

"I am Hades, guardian of mankind." Said Hades.

"I am Ryko, Slayer of the wicked." Said Ryko.

"And together…" They said in combined voices.

"We will slay _you, _bane of mankind." Laoch couldn't believe it.

"Either I'm in a _really _bad terminator sequel, or you just became the most badass thing on the planet." Ryko smiled.

"Sadie should get a kick outta this."

"Forget about her. Let's focus on Ares." Said Hades.

"On contraire, my friends. While I may be so scared I could run to my mother, I won't be sticking around." He then jumped of the building.

"We should follow him." Said Ryko.

"Okay, are you my best friend or a divine being?"

"Both." They said in unison.

"How long do you need me?" Asked Ryko.

"A week." Ryko nodded.

"Fine by me. Laoch, let's go." Laoch shook his head.

"I don't like it."

"Deal with it." Said Hades.

"We need to go, Ryko."

"Right."

They jumped from the building.

"Ares went this way. I wonder what Aelia's daughter is doing right now."

"Her name is Sadie."

"I don't care. Ares is our priority."

"Oh come on, I didn't agree-"

"Stop arguing with yourself!"

Ryko, or Hades, sighed. Probably Ryko.

"Let's go."

Hades grabbed Laoch's arm and opened a portal, jumping through it.

They landed in a room where Sadie and Shade were battling robots.

"I'm really starting to think I'm in a bad terminator sequel." Sadie took out the last one by hitting him with a vicious spinning kick.

"How'd you guys get-" She immediately noticed Ryko's differences.

"I thought you said three days!"

"I was dying, daughter of Aelia."

"Her name is Sadie!"

"I don't give a crap!"

Ryko clutched his head in pain.

"We're out of synch. Everything we think and say must be in harmony, or else we could end up killing each other."

"Splendid."

"Ryko? Hades? Rykadies? Hyko? Ugh!"

"I feel ya, sweetheart."

That gave Sadie a sense of hope. He could control himself?

"So what happened to you guys?"

"Well, this Anubis dude came and said the fire guy was dying so Ryko served as his host and then we met Ares and he jumped off a building and we landed here." Laoch inhaled.

"What happened down here?" Asked the combined voices of Ryko and Hades.

"Funniest thing, we…"


	9. Battle Royal, Sadie and Shade

**I don't own Sonic or Sega.**

9. Battle Royal, Sadie and Shade

"So." Said Shade.

"What?"

"Is Ryko being your date just a cover? Or…"

"Ugh, he probably thinks it is. I just wish…"

"Really?"

"Of course! What isn't there to like! He just can't see in front of his face!"

"Well, with the whole Ares thing, he's under a lot of stress. He kills people for a living! He's so used to that that he just doesn't really… get stuff like that. I'm sure he has regrets. Anything else he's going through?"

Sadie thought of Hades.

"…No."

"You sure took a long time to answer."

"Whatever. We need to find Ares."

They stumbled into the library.

"Hmmmm… don't they always have secret books that you pull?"

"Nah, that's to oooaaahhhhhhhhhh!"

Sadie whipped around to find a latch open in the floor.

"Weird."

She was about to enter the latch when time itself froze.

"What the…"

"Hello, daughter of Aelia." It was… Anubis? Was that his name?"

"What's going on?"

"Time itself is frozen. I do that when I need to talk to someone."

"What do you need to talk to me about? Shouldn't you be tending to your brother?"

"I am. This is the second part of the soul, the _ba, _the personality."

"So Your babysitting your brother without a personality?"

"Listen, Sadie. Ryko likes you. He really, really likes you. Being around you brings comfort to him; it makes him less under pressure. He may not tell you, but when you're around him he feels more confident and more relaxed. He's glad he has someone else to talk to for a change." Sadie's eyes lit up with excitement.

"Really?" Anubis nodded.

"In order to defeat Ares and restore _Ma'at, _order, you must be at his side at all times. Telling him what I told you could be very dangerous. He might confuse himself. Just take my advice. He needs you… and from what I've heard from your recent conversations, you feel the same way about him as well."

"Do you gods-"

"We aren't gods."

"Do you super powered divine beings like yourself always do this?"

"I don't talk to mortals much. But we do what is right."

"What you _think _is right." Anubis stared at her.

"What we _know _is right." Time continued and Anubis disappeared.

"Well then…"

She jumped down the hatch.

"Hey, check this out!"

A map was etched on the wall.

"There must be a system of catacombs under here…"

"And it looks like it's huge. How are we gonna get along in here?"

"Like this."

She pulled out what seemed to be a rectangular prism. She scanned the map with it and an exact copy printed out of it.

"What do you do at G.U.N, anyway?"

"I'm not supposed to tell anybody, but it involves a little espionage."

"I see."

"We should explore this place, don't ya think? We might not get killed by ancient booby trabs."

They explored the ruin and didn't run into anything… for a while. They came to writings on the wall.

"Hmmm… death ahead, be warned, and ooh, check this out, demons ahead. Let's go."

"They continued to go through the catacombs until they saw skeletal robots.

"Brilliant."

"Not half bad. That metal isn't modern, though. Might not even be metal. Whoever built this must have been an ancient civilization."

"Know what they say at G.U.N?"

"What?"

"If it's still moving, kill it."

They fought off the two robots, which didn't prove to be very hard. They both continued on.

"Ryko woulda loved this place."

"I wonder what they're all doing right now."

"It can't possibly be as awesome as this."

"Freak yea."

Robots. Exploring, ruins, robots, robots, robots, ruins, exploring, dead end, robots. It was all very exciting.

"Shade?"

"Yea?"

"I just realized something."

"What?"

"What are we doing in this place? Aren't we supposed to find Ares?"

"He could be hiding in here, I would. Plus, this is pretty freaking cool."

"Point."

Robots.

"These robots are really annoying me right now."

"And there's probably a whole military in here."

"I hope not."

Well, it turned out that there was about _three _militaries in there, and they fought their way out of every situation.

"Can I take back my earlier statements? This really sucks." Sadie laughed.

"Yea, well… who cares."

They were scanning a nearby wall.

"Hey, I got a secret passage."

"Then let's go in."

They immediately regretted it. When they got out of the passage, they were surrounded by (you guessed it, folks!) robots.

"We, er, come in peace?" The robots closed in on them.

"But you guys don't. Are you armed, Shade?" She tossed her two Nocturnus guns, and it was on.

Robots.

Robots.

Robots.

Robots.

"Can we hold them off much longer?"

_I need more power… oh god, I have an Idea. This isn't gonna work._

"Anubis! I need help! You wouldn't mind taking out half of these guys, would you?"

Half of them fell dead.

"… that works."

She kept shooting them with their guns until they ran out of ammo. Then they used their fist and hands to take out the rest. When they finished, Ryko and Laoch came through… Hades' portal?" She then noticed the differences.

"You said not for three days!"

They finished to conversation and she filled them in what happened, and how they still don't know where Ares is.

"Well." Said Ryko.

"This has been an interesting day."

"Yep. Anyway, maybe we should go." They all hopped in the portal and appeared outside of the palace.

"Sadie, keep my car for a week."

"You won't need it for a week? But that means… No, not that long."

"He must." Said Hades.

"This is all for you! Ryko is generously giving you his body and mind, and you take advantage of his thoughts and everything! He wants to help out a friend! This isn't hosting you… you're possessing him! This is… URGH!"

She hopped in Ryko's car and drove off recklessly.

"She's really upset, maybe we should-"

"Ryko, we need to focus on-"

"SHUT UP! SHUT THE FREAK UP! WE'RE GOING HOME RIGHT NOW!" He disappeared in a portal of fire.

"Sharing two minds… hearing a different voice come out of your mouth… he must going crazy." Said Laoch.

"Sadie could get seriously hurt driving like that, too."

"Go home safe, Rykadies. No, that sounds stupid, um, Hyko? Nah, er, Hado? Whatever. Let's go home."


	10. Chaos, Death, and the Underworld

**I don't own Sonic or Sega.**

10. Chaos, Death, and the Underworld

Ryko hadn't come to work for two days straight. Sadie had gone to his house to check on him.

"Ryko? Are you in he-OH MY GOD!"

Ryko was clutching his head, obviously in an intense amount of pain.

"He needs something to sooth him. Is there anything you do that he likes, like dance or sing or-"

"I can sing."

"Of course you can, you're Aeila's daughter. Go ahead."

She sang. Ryko slowly came back to his senses.

"Sadie?"

"Yea."

"Thanks."

"Anything."

"Alright. How many days haven't I been to work?"

"Y-You don't know?"

"No, I don't."

"Two days."

Sadie sighed.

"Anubis!"

Anubis appeared from his portal of darkness. This time, he was wearing an Egyptian headdress. He also wore an anhk necklace.

"Yes, Sadie?"

"Talk to your brother." He turned towards them.

"He's having trouble with the hosting, like most."

"Why?" Asked Sadie.

"There are 5 parts of the soul; The _ba_, the personality, _sheut_, the shadow, which is like a backup of the soul, the _ka_, the existence, the _ren_, the name, and the _ib_, the heart."

"Not good with Egyptian mythology."

"Don't break the forth wall, Sadie. Anyway, all of this is doubled into the body. Two names, or identities, two personalities, and so on. It's a lot for one person. Ryko, though, will be able to handle it. It's just that what causes this is that he and Hades have two different personalities. Literally. Hades likes to focus directly on his task while Ryko likes to socialize and have fun. Like what I said to you last night… he's having a hard time coping…"

Time froze. Hades looked like his original self, unfrozen in time, while Ryko was frozen, again in his original self.

"Not being able to talk to you."

"Sadie, I can share Ryko's thoughts. He likes you very much. He can't put up with not being his normal self around you."

"So basically, he's going insane."

"Most do. But Ryko won't. He's strong."

"But this is hurting him! How long-"

"A day."

"That's what I wanted to hear."

"I'm getting weaker too, Sadie. I will need a host."

"No."

"What, you? No, I already have a good idea…" He smiled.

"Without a _sheut_ of a doubt."

_Unknown Location, 8:00 AM_

Ares was thinking really hard. He hadn't realized you could fuse together like that! He had to take action against them, but how? Then Ryko jumped through a portal of fire.

"We can agree on one thing." Said Ryko.

"Defiantly." Said Hades.

"What would that be?" Asked Ares.

"We're here to kill you." They said in unison.

Hades shot three fireballs at Ares, who dodged them. Ares threw some playing cards, but it was no use. He was about to try and mesmerize them, but since Hades was there he couldn't. He was about to scream and run when a portal of dark red opened and a hedgehog stepped out.

He was red with some yellow and orange mixed in. His sclera were white but he had no pupils. His fur was once again a mixture of orange, yellow and red.

"It's been a long time, brother."

"Not long enough."

"Who do I have the utmost pleasure of meeting this time?"

"I am Apophis, Creator of Chaos."

"And I'm really scared now." Said Ares.

"What do you want?" Time froze, but the area around it was red. Visions of war and death surrounded them.

"Anubis has found a host."

"Why does that concern me?"

"It doesn't. Just a little news. What I'm really here to talk about is that the others aren't happy with you."

"They never are."

"Well, they _really_ don't like what you're doing. They threaten to attack you."

"Bring them on. I don't care what I or Anubis does, but we do what's right, unlike you." Apophis shrugged.

"Chaos within _Ma'at_, Brother."

"What is this _Ma'at_ crap you and Anubis always talk about?"

"We were based on Egyptian gods. Anyways, you need chaos to have order. I must go. This will probably be the last time you see me in a while."

"I hope so."

Time unfroze. Ryko and Hades were one once more.

They flung more fireballs at Ares and Ares managed to only get hit my one of them, which left a burn mark on his leg.

"Alright, my friends, you won't be fighting me very longer! It's time I go." He vanished.

"Coward!" They screamed.

"Ryko, I can separate now, but it's going to hurt."

"Please do."

It hurt. Very badly. Once they separated Ryko collapsed.

"Thank you, Ryko." Said Hades. He brought him back to his house and laid him down on his couch.

"Now I wonder who Anubis got to be his host…"

_Ryko's House, 4:00 PM_

Ryko didn't come to work again. Sadie was getting nervous. She opened the door to his house and saw him sleeping. This was the real Ryko, she was sure of it. A note was lying near him.

_Let Him Be._

_Hades_

She nodded. She leaned over to see the door to Ryko's backyard. She wondered what was in it…

_Ryko's House, 4:15 PM_

Ryko slowly awoke. He looked at what he was wearing.

"I fell asleep in my combat outfit?"

He went to his room to put on his casual outfit. He took a look on his radar and noticed someone was in his backyard. He smiled. That could only be one person.

_Ryko's Backyard, 4:20 PM_

SAMs, machine guns, cannons, mortars, everything. She couldn't believe what she was seeing.

"Ya know Sadie, some of my targets think they're safe when they fly. I prove them wrong."

She turned around. Ryko was as casual as she'd ever seen him. He was wearing converse high tops. His gun belt was gone and he wasn't wearing his sunglasses. He was still wearing his necklace.

"Why do you wear that necklace all the time?" Sadie asked.

"It belonged to my dad."

"What happened to your dad, anyway?"

"He was doing a contract when he got shot by his target multiple times. He went to the hospital and bled out, but not before giving me this."

"It still has blood on it." Ryko nodded.

"Yea. Why don't I show you around some more? If you thought this was cool, wait till ya see my garage!"


	11. The Acorn Stakes

**I don't own Sonic or Sega.**

_Author's Note: The first part of this chapter was inspired by the death of champion Australian and New Zealand race horse, Phar Lap. Many, including myself because of the physical evidence, believe he was posioned in 1932. His death came when he was a healthy 5 year old and his 'illness' started without warning and he died shortly after. To read more about Phar Lap, go to his wikipedia article._

11. The Acorn Stakes

"Hey, Sadie. I gotta go see Sonic in the back and wish him luck, you wanna come with?"

"Ryko, give any girl the opportunity to see Sonic the Hedgehog and see what they say every time. Yes, I would like to come with you."

"Cool. Let's go."

When they got to his room, a doctor was standing in front of his door.

"No visitors at this time."

"Why? What happened?" asked Sadie.

"He's throwing up every five seconds."

"Can we see him? We're personal friends-"

"No, you-"

"Let 'em in, doc." Said the weak voice inside.

The doctor was right. He was throwing up a lot.

"What happened?"

"That… drink…took a sip…set it down…hour ago… musta been something…"

Sadie smelled the water.

"I can't smell anything."

"Arsenic."

"How do you know?" Ryko shrugged.

"Cyanide smells like almonds and Chloral Hydrate smells terrible. You can't smell Arsenic."

"What does that mean?"

"Sonic the Hedgehog." began Ryko.

"You've been poisoned."

_In the stands, 2:40 PM_

Laoch and Shade were sitting in their seats when the princess herself ran up to them. Laoch bowed.

"Princess Sally."

"Yea, whatever. You know Sonic, right? I need to know what's going on."

"My friend Ryko just saw him, call him up." Laoch Dialed the number for her.

_Sonic's Room, 2:43 PM_

Ryko's phone rang.

"Hello… Princess Sally?"

_The princess is calling Ryko? _Thought Sadie. For some reason jealousy boiled up inside her.

"Oh yea, he was poisoned… Arsenic…. No, unfortunately not. You don't? Weird… yea, I don't care, I just want him ready for the race. Ares is in… ARES!" Ryko hung up the phone.

"Sonic, did you see a blue Echidna anywhere around here?"

"yea…he was the… water person…"

"Apollo is here, eh? We got our poisoner."

Princess Sally rushed in. Sadie and the doctor both bowed.

"It is our honor, princess."

Ryko still stood. The princess raised her eyebrows.

"I didn't come all this way to give you the royal treatment, Sally." Sally smiled.

"I like the way you stand your ground. Now tell me about this."

"One of Ares' agents, Apollo the Echidna, gave him water. Sonic only took one sip, so it isn't that bad. I think Ares wanted him dead." Sally nodded.

"Sounds reasonable. Anything else?"

"Besides don't drink the water? Not really. We need that antidote so he can race." Sally looked appalled.

"You want him to _race_?"

"Hell yea! He's got the best chance at the triple crown I've ever seen! He's the only one who can beat Ares, too!" The doctor spoke up.

"I'm sorry, did you say Arsenic? I've got an antidote… was he poisoned?"

"Yes. Give me the antidote." said Sally.

Sally gave the antidote to Sonic, who was more than happy to see her.

"Alright. Now I gotta find Apollo."

_Hallways of Acorn Stadium, 3:00 PM_

He didn't have to find Apollo; Apollo found him. He jumped out from nowhere and began the assault. Ryko, a much more experienced assassin, quickly knocked him out with a vicious spinning kick. He was going to bring him to the princess, but then he had another Idea. He smiled.

_Ares' room, 3:30 PM_

Ares was smiling. That foolish hedgehog was out of the way. He was going to win...

He stopped dead. Apollo was on the floor, obviously unconscious. A note was on his body.

_If you want something done, do it yourself._

_Ryko_

Ares was fuming. He calmed. He could still win the race.

_The track, 5:00_

"Wwwweeeeelllcccooommmeee, to the Aaacccoorrrnnn STTTAAKKEEESS!" boomed the announcer.

Ryko and Sadie got back to their seats.

"Little CSI goin' on, I heard." Ryko chuckled.

"Yea."

"Hi, Sadie." Said Shade in an extremely friendly voice.

"Sup."

"Here are the contestants and their odds!

Sonic the Hedgehog: 3-1

Scourge the Hedgehog: 3-1

Osiris the Hedgehog: 50-1

Poseidon the Hedgehog: 42-1

Secretariat the Hedgehog: 3-1

Affirmed the Hedgehog: 50-1

Citation the Hedgehog: 30-1

Bodemeister the Hedgehog: 6-1

Ares the Hedgehog: 4-1

There you have it! And our newcomer, Bodemeister, is supposed to be really fast! We'll see how this plays out! Are we ready, folks?"

"DING!"

"Around the first turn now, A-Ares in the lead, Secretariat in close second and Sonic in the back, Osiris in second to last, the group seems to be moving along very well! We are coming around the second turn, Secretariat trips and gets pommeled by the oncoming hedgehogs, the medical team should see to that, A-Ares still in firs, Sonic still in the back, the third turn and we're coming down to the final stretch, it seems as if A-Ares… What? Look at Sonic! Look at Sonic!"

It would have been normal, Sonic turning on the jets and running down the backstretch. What made it amazing was he was running backwards. When he was about to pass Ares, Ares' mouth was gaping, as he was still running backwards. As he was passing him, Sonic created what would probably become the most controversial event in Mobian sports history; as he was passing him he flipped him off. Ares' face burned with anger; he tried to speed up but he couldn't. Sonic passed the finish line still flipping off Ares and winning the second jewel of the Triple Crown. The crowed was going insane.

"That was the best, yet controversial, ending to a race I've ever seen!"

Ares was about to attack but Hades opened his portal and dragged him through it, eliminating the threat. Sonic rushed over to Secretariat. He was just regaining consciousness.

"Did… Did you win? Did you beat Ares?" Sonic smiled.

"Watch the replay." He did. He burst out laughing when he saw what Sonic did.

"You alright?"

"Yea. You may have won today, but in three weeks at the Freedom Stakes, you may not be so lucky. I'll be training."

"I look forward to it."

_The hallways, 5:30 PM_

Sonic was walking down the hallways when the group greeted him.

"That was awesome!" shouted Ryko, giving him a friendly hug.

Sadie couldn't find the words to come out of her mouth.

"You better win the Triple Crown, buddy." said Laoch.

"Sonic!" shouted the princess, running up and giving him a hug.

"That was awesome! And we couldn't have done it without your help, Ryko. She gave him a hug too.

Sadie didn't like that. The look must have shown on her face.

"Go drool over Sonic." mouthed Ryko, smiling.

"Thanks for everything, guys." said Sonic.

"Hey, no problem…" began Ryko.

"But you owe me and Sadie front row seats for the Freedom Stakes."


	12. The Most Dangerous Game

I** don't own Sonic or Sega**

_Author's Note: The following chapter is based on 'The Most Dangerous Game' by Richard Connell. I reccomend you read it first, as it takes 15 minutes. Search 'The Most Dangerous Game Text' and hit the first one._

12. The Most Dangerous Game

"Hey, Sadie." said Ryko as they were walking back to the parking lot.

"I'm going to an island off the coast of here tomorrow and I can bring someone else. You wanna go?"

"Uh…uh…"

_You IDIOT! _Sadie thought. Laoch rolled his eyes.

"Yes, Ryko, I would love to go." He said, a perfect imitation of Sadie's voice. Sadie turned red. Ryko burst out laughing.

"Well, come on down tomorrow. I have a boat. I'll see you tomorrow, Sadie.

"Uh…"

_In the ocean, 2:30 PM_

"Sadie, duck!" Too late. Sadie was shot in the arm, and she fell, eliminating the need to duck.

Ryko took out a Barrett 50. Cal and shot a hole in the bottom of the boat, sinking it.

"I have a bandage; try not to scream in pain."

"Harder than it looks." grumbled Sadie.

"I've been shot 14 times, Sadie. I know how it feels."

When she was bandaged up, Ryko went back to the captain's seat. Sadie hit her elbow on a pistol of Ryko's.

"Got it."

She caught the gun before it fell into the ocean, but realized too late she had reached too far. She fell and nailed her head on the way down, floating unconscious in the sea.

"Sadie!"

Ryko jumped off the boat and in midair realized how foolish he was. The boat kept going. He held Sadie and went to an island in the distance, not knowing what he would find there.

_Ship-Trap Island, 3:00_

Sadie woke up upside-down.

Her arm hurt like crap. She realized that she was slung over Ryko's shoulder.

"Where are we?" she asked, not moving an inch.

"Ship-Trap. It was named because a lot of ships sink down here."

All the sudden, a man appeared, a revolver in his hand.

"I'm not here to rob you. I'm Ryko. This is Sadie. She needs medical attention."

The hedgehog pulled back his hammer.

"I'm Ryko. She's Sadie. We need help." repeated Ryko.

The hedgehog put away the gun and smiled.

"Welcome to my island, Ryko and Sadie. I'm Zaroff the Hedgehog."

"Thanks. You have a house here?"

"I do."

"Thank you."

_Zaroff's House, 4:00_

"What do you do here, Zaroff?" asked Ryko.

"I am a hunter. I can shoot the biggest game there is."

"Interesting."

"Not really. I became bored. I now hunt a better game."

"What game?"

"The most dangerous game of all."

"What is it?"

" Ryko, the gods make some poets, some artist, some soldiers, and some leaders. They made me a hunter. I am a natural. No game can compare to my skill."

"So what game do you hunt here?"

"The best. It doesn't come naturally, I must stock this island."

"With what?"

"Game that has courage, cunning, and must be able to reason."

"No game can reason." grunted Sadie.

"Ah, but one can."

"You can't be talking about-"

"Why can't I?"

"This is a cruel joke."

"I talk of hunting."

"What you talk of is murder of the innocent."

"Oh, no, Ryko. This is sport. I ask you to hunt with me."

"No! This is sadistic!" Zaroff shrugged.

"Fine. You can either get whipped to death by me, or I can give you a three hour head start."

"We'll take the head start."

"Good. You get a knife."

"Gracious. So, how do we get off this island alive?"

"Should you evade me for three days, I will let you go. No one has ever done that, I'm afraid. Avoid the swamp over on the southwest part of the island. We call it Death Swamp. We can discuss that over this table, unless…"

"Alright, Let's go."

_Day 1_

Sadie was in pain. Ryko had climbed up a tree with Sadie and sat there.

"Argh, Ryko…"

"As much as I like you, Sadie, you really need to shut up." Sadie let out a long groan.

Ryko heard something in the distance.

It was Zaroff.

Luckily for him, G.U.N taught him to make hunting traps. Zaroff stepped on his trap. He tried to move out of the way, but the tree hit his shoulder. He stumbled back in surprise.

"A Malay Mancatcher? I'm impressed. I'm going to go home for the evening. I'll see you tomorrow, Ryko and Sadie."

When the next day came, Sadie almost didn't wake up.

"Argh… infection…"

"You sure?"

"Yes."

"We'll get out of here."

Zaroff was in the distance he once again hit a trigger Ryko set up and a pit of spikes shot upward.

"I know you can hear me, Ryko. You have killed two of my servants. I'm going home. Two down, Ryko."

When the third day came, Sadie was terrible. She was pale, for a white hedgehog, and she had a terrible fever.

"We've gotta get outta here."

Zaroff emerged and fired a few shots at him. They missed and Ryko ran for a cliff. Sadie chose that moment to wake up.

"What are you AAAAHHHHHHH!"

Zaroff assumed they were dead. He went back to his home and he went to his room. When he turned on the lights, someone was leaning against his wall.

"Ryko? How did you get here?"

"I swam. It was easier then walking through the jungle."

"Congratulations. You've won my game." Ryko smiled.

"But I am still a beast at bay, Zaroff. En Garde!" Zaroff bowed.

"I see. The winner stays, the loser dies. Get ready…

_Zaroff's House, 1:30 AM_

The medical team was checking out Sadie. Ryko was talking to a doctor.

"Yes, it's infected badly. She'll be back to normal, though."

"Really?"

"Yea. You can go see her."

Ryko sat down to Sadie.

"So, is this a first date?" asked Sadie weakly.

"Well, let's see. I went with you on a boat, you got shot, I sunk the boat, we went to an island, met a lunatic, he tried to hunt us, we outmaneuvered him and then we had a battle, and now were here. I sure hope not." They both laughed.

A portal of fire opened and out came Hades, accompanied by Rotor the Walrus.

"Are you Ryko?"

"I am."

"Good. The princess would like to meet with you."

"When?"

"Right now."


	13. Knothole Knockout

**I don't own Sonic or Sega.**

13. Knothole Knockout

"Hi Ryko." said Sally.

"Your royalness." Sally rolled her eyes.

"I was hoping we could be friends."

"Do I have to bow, say 'princess' or kiss your royal boots?"

"No."

"Deal."

They were walking down the palace halls.

"What you're about to be told is completely secret and is a confidential black operation. Do you swear to not tell anyone what you hear in this room?"

"Swear."

"Alright. Please step in."

It was an ordinary room. Sally hit a button in her closet and a false panel opened up. They walked downstairs until they came to a table. It had the Knothole Freedom Fighters logo on it. They were all there; except for one.

"Where's Sonic?"

"I don't want him to know about this."

Ryko was interested.

"Fill me in on the plan."

"Speaking of missing, where is Sadie?"

"She got shot in the arm and is now residing in a hospital."

"Sorry." Ryko shrugged.

"You date an assassin that tends to happen."

"So you're an assassin?"

"The best."

"Then you might not be interested in what I'm about to propose."

"Are you kidding me? A black operation? Fill me in!" Sally smiled.

"Who do you see missing here besides Sonic?" Ryko looked around.

"Bunnie. Bunnie D' Coolette. " The Knothole Freedom Fighters were world renowned; Nikki was in a really small sub branch completely unknown; probably made up.

"Yep. The first thing we offer is membership to us." Ryko frowned.

"I work for G.U.N"

"I'm fully aware of that. They've gave the okay for you to become a member of us and we can snag you when we need you."

"I accept. This is awesome!" Sally smiled.

"Thought you'd like that. Anyways, the plan…" Ryko cut her off.

"First, I want the details from the subject's closest friend. Or, in this case, husband. Antoine D'Coolette." He nodded, understanding.

"Bunnie has been kidnapped."

"When?"

"Last night."

"So what are we going to do? We couldn't possibly have found them." the group muttered in agreement, giving away that Sally wasn't telling them something.

"Ah, but we have. She's off the coast of here."

"In the ocean?"

"That's right."

"I don't know, Sally-"

"Call me Sal."

_She really needs me, _thought Ryko.

"From what I've gathered, we're getting in a boat and attempting to rescue Bunnie without the general public knowing, and you need me to join the crew." Sally looked puzzled.

"How did you know?"

"Assassin."

"Alright. Well, I don't want you to be in the crew." She paused.

"I want you to lead it."

An outbreak ensued.

"EVERYBODY SHUT UP!" yelled Sally.

"I talked to G.U.N. From what they tell me, he has all the natural skills. I got his resume for all of you." She passed them around. In a few moments they all started looking impressed.

"I don't trust him." said Antoine.

"Well I do." said Amy Rose.

"Why aren't you captain, Sally?" asked Ryko.

"I thought someone would ask that. I don't want to disappear. Remember, this operation is to be completely secret."

"Alright, Sally-"

"Sal."

"When we're good enough friends. _Sally, _Do you really think this is possible?"

"I don't know who captured her."

"I do."

"He wouldn't!"

"He did, Sally."

"Who?" asked Antoine.

Ryko and Sally shot a quick glance.

"No one. Forget about it."

"Yes, nothing important."

"If you know who kidnapped my Bunnie and you aren't telling me…" Sally sighed.

"We have an idea and I'll tell you soon. For now, I gotta go. Ryko, you can talk with the group. Congratulations, until this mission is over you are the de-facto leader of the Knothole Freedom Fighters." She left.

"What's our ship like?"

"It's the best on the planet, built by me." said Tails, a smile on his face.

"Awesome. Does anybody know how to work it?" They all pointed at Tails.

"You will steer the vessel, than. I can give orders. What weapons do we have on it, Tails?"

"It's got cannons hidden in the sides of it and we have various fake distress flags. We have a machine gun and a grappling hook in the case we need to board another ship. It has a giant crossbow as well."

"Excellent. Is anybody a good navigator?" A hologram came from the center of the table; she had a badge that said "N.I.C.O.L.E"

"I can do that."

"Hey, your N.I.C.O.L.E! The robot!" said Ryko. N.I.C.O.L.E blushed.

"When you're done flirting with robot, we have work to do." Ryko raised his eyebrows.

"Do you have leadership problems, Antoine?"

"Yes, I do." Ryko smiled. Tails was nervous.

"Would you like to challenge the right to my leadership, Antoine?"

"As a matter of fact, I would."

"As you wish. You may keep your sword. I won't use anything." The got into battle position.

Antoine swung. Ryko grabbed his sword and disarmed him, sweeping his feet from under him. He stepped hard on his chest, pointing the sword at his neck. The others watched in awe.

"I ask again. _Do we have leadership problems, Antoine?_"

"N-No."

"Excellent. Tails, where exactly are they?" asked Ryko, still on Antoine.

"They're in the Triangle."

"Of course they are. Alright, we break up this meeting. Antoine, I want to talk to you alone." They walked out to the hall.

"You wanted to know who had Bunnie? I'm piecing together that you figured out me and Sally know."

"Yes, I did. Who was it?"

"You aren't going to like it."

"Who?"

"Ares the Mesmer."

Antoine paused.

"What?"

"I'm not repeating it again. He has a gang that does all the stuff he doesn't want to do. Did Sally tell you what happened to Sonic at the Acorn Stakes?"

"Yes, he was poisoned."

"They were the ones who did that."

"I see."

"Tell ya what." said Ryko, a smile on his face.

"I'll let you handle any,er, negotiating, I have to do." Antoine smiled.

"I'm starting to warm up to you."

"Thanks. Anyways, we need to get on the boat, eh? I better get ready. Go tell Tails to get everything ready on the boat for tomorrow. I have plan, that, should it work, might eliminate any fighting whatsoever. Meet me on the dock tomorrow."


	14. The Only Easy Day Was Yesterday

**I don't own Sonic or Sega.**

14. The Only Easy Day Was Yesterday

"Don't shoot to kill. Blow one hole in that boat and our target in gone. Save our weapons. Tails, where are we?"

"In the triangle now."

"Great. Antoine, port, Amy, starboard."

"What?"

"Antoine, left, Amy, right."

"Got it."

"Who's trimming the sails?"

"We don't have sails, Ryko."

"Oh."

"Uh, Ryko?"

"Yea?"

"I've found her."

"Direction."

"Forward."

"We don't have anybody aft?"

"No."

"Great. N.I.C.O.L.E, take us the closest you can without them seeing us."

"Yes, Ryko."

When that got within that distance, Ryko repeated the plan.

"Get on your diving suits, guys. Tails, I can take the tiller from here."

"Ryko, there isn't a tiller-"

"Whatever." Ryko started to take the controls.

He got so close to the ship that he jumped on to the other one.

"Ryko. Nice to see you again." said Apollo.

"Where's Bunnie?"

"Why should I tell you?"

"Because if you don't, I gonna beat the crap out of you."

"You and what army?" sneered Apollo.

Ryko whistled.

All of the Freedom Fighters jumped from the water over the rail. They all had diving suits on, but hit a button and the gear fell off, revealing their regular clothing.

"Oh, some ticked off Knothole Freedom Fighters. Not much, I know."

"Men… attack." said Apollo. Men jumped out from all directions.

A relatively short standoff ensued, and it ended with a lot of dead pirates.

"Where's Bunnie?"

"I'm not telling you anything." spat Apollo.

"Oh really?" said Ryko. He turned to a smiling Antoine.

"Persuasive action?" asked Antoine.

"Persuasive action." confirmed Ryko.

_The Mesmerizer, 2:30 PM_

"She's in the cargo deck! She's in the cargo deck!" shouted a screaming Apollo.

"Thanks. It's lucky you wore a life jacket…"

Antoine had Apollo hanging by his ankle over the ship.

"Because you're about to take a dive. Antoine?"

"Drop him."

Apollo plummeted to the ocean below.

"Go find Bunnie."

Antoine found her within minutes. He brought her aboard.

"Excellent."

Ryko shot two holes in the bottom of the boat and it began to sink. He hopped off the boat on to Sally's, _The Scorpion_.

"Let's go back to the palace. We outta show our royalness that our mission was successful."

_The Mobian Palace, 4:30 PM_

Sally was talking to her father, Maximillian.

"Where are the Freedom Fighters?" asked Max. Sally was sweating.

"I don't-"

The doors burst open and Ryko and the rest of the Freedom Fighters, followed by Bunnie D'Coolette. Sally gave a sigh of relief. The Freedom Fighters bowed; except for one, who kept on walking. King Max was about to speak but Sally held up a hand.

"Forget about it."

She walked with them into the headquarters and burst with excitement.

"You guys did it!"

"Yes, we did. And as much as I hate to say it…" said Antoine.

"It was all because of Ryko." Ryko smiled. Sally ran up and embraced him.

"Thanks so much!"

"You're welcome."

"Oh yea, Sadie's here to pick you up. She said you'd be mad about something."

"That can mean only one thing."

"What?"

"She has my car."

_Outside the palace, 5:00 PM_

Sure enough, Sadie was in the Cobra. She was wearing casual sunglasses and a cast on her arm.

"Why hello, prince Ryko."

"Everybody knows she and Sonic are dating, Sadie."

"Joking."

"Somebody's in a good mood." Sadie shrugged.

"The painkillers are really working. We gotta go.

They were driving down the street when Sadie looked in the rear view.

"We have a tail."

"I saw."

"See that drawbridge?" asked Sadie, smiling.

Others would have said Hell no, your insane, and oh my god. Ryko bounced up and down like a three year old.

"Do you think we can make it!" he asked Sadie.

"Hmmm…" She pounded her foot on the gas pedal.

"Yes."

The car behind them sped up and then slammed the brakes.

They soared over the water, with Ryko putting his hands up like he was on a roller coaster.

"Since when did you become a bond girl?"

"Bucc decided to make me more epic."

"Ah."

"Anyways, I think we _holy freakin' crap!_"

The tail shot over the drawbridge. Ryko whistled and got out of the car. He stood in front of it and pulled out a SIG Saur. The car was speeding forward. Ryko shot the tire, and it swerved out of control. Inside of it, struggling to get out, was Fiona Fox.

"My, my, my. You chose a bad time to get lost." said Ryko, grabbing her by the collar and yanking her out of the car.

"Get… off of me!"

"First, tell us why you're here." said Sadie, smiling.

"Why should I?" she spat.

"Because, if you don't…" Sadie pulled out her cell phone and dialed Sally Acorn's number.

"Alright… the Suppression Squad sent me."

_Mobian Palace, 7:30 PM_

"_What?" _shouted Sally.

"Mhmmm." said Sadie.

"Well then… I say we meet Scourge halfway. They just started something they can't take back. Thanks again for your help, Ryko.

"No problem. But I want a piece of the Suppression Squad." Sally laughed.

"You got it. Sadie?"

"My arm."

"Oh yea. Well, Ryko, we're gonna go down there and whip their asses backwards. What do ya say?"

"I like the way you think, Sally Acorn."

"I don't like what you're thinking right now, Ryko the Hedgehog."

"SONIC THE FREAKIN' HEDGEHOG!" shouted Ryko, pointing at Sally. Sally and Sadie both started laughing.

"It's alright, Ryko. Anyways, keep me updated. I gotta sit a home."

"Alright, that's-"

That famous portal of fire opened and out stepped Hades the Hedgehog.

"Hello, princess."

"What up, Hades?"

"The Suppression Squad is planning an attack."

"We figured." said Sally.

"Yes, well, the Destructix is with them."

Sally spit out her drink.

"_What?"_

"I'm afraid so."

"The only easy day was yesterday." Sally gave a nervous laugh.

"That's true. We'll have to cope."

"Not as easy as it seems."

"Yes, it really doesn't."

"Well, we need the Freedom Fighters here tomorrow. This is getting on my nerves."

"Speaking of getting on my nerves, where's Fiona?"

"We let her get away. She can tell them how ticked we are."

"Alright. Good luck, Ryko."

"And to you… Princess Sally."


	15. The Plot Twist Then Twist Again

**I don't own Sonic or Sega.**

15. The Plot Twist... Then Twist Again

"Alright, Knothole!" said Sally.

"We need to discuss everything right here before we attack. You may all release your opinions and or questions."

"Where do we attack?" asked Antoine.

"Well, I was thinking the south wall, as it gives us a better element of surprise-"

"I say we attack them through the front gate." said Ryko

Everybody stared at him like he was an idiot.

"Why?" asked Sally, still confused.

"They know that we'll try to surprise them. With the added forces of the Destructix, they might be able to cover all walls. I don't think they'll be watching the front gate. Shock n' Awe. "

"Wow… that is actually a pretty good point."

"Well, I'm just trying to help. I'm looking forward to battling Scourge."

"So am I." said a familiar voice.

"Sonic!" shouted Sally, and she ran up and hugged him.

"I just didn't want to miss out on the fun."

"Well join in. Ryko was just telling us about a cool battle plan."

"Repeat."

He did.

"Sounds good to me. When do we attack?"

"Right now. To the Suppression Squad HQ!" shouted Sally.

_The Suppression Squad HQ, 1:30 PM_

"Crap." said Tails.

"What?"

"They have every place guarded." Sally cursed under her breath.

"What do we do now?"

"The same as we planned. What else? If we charge hard enough,we can break through the defense…" he glanced at Sally.

"Or talk our way through it."

"True. Let's go."

They arrived at the front gate, met by the Suppression Squad and the Destructix.

"Why, who do we have here?" asked Scourge.

"A lying, cheating, turncoat fox and a Sonic wannabe." said Sally. Fiona growled.

"Now, now, babe, don't worry! We can pound them in a few seconds! Let's talk about why there here first."

"Your little fox was spying on us."

"Oh really? What did you find out, babe?"

"All about their attack plans."

"Oh really? Than who could that be on the south wall?" asked Ryko. When they all turned around, Ryko blasted Scourge with a kick to the head. The battle had begun.

Sally was busy fighting with Fiona; Amy hit anyone who came close to her with her Piko-Piko Hammer, including Antoine about seven times. Ryko was still fighting Scourge and Sonic was locked in a battle with Sargent Simian. Tails was in combat with Lightning.

"You ain't half bad." said Scourge, throwing a punch which Ryko dodged.

"You ain't half as good as I am." said Ryko, connecting with a punch.

"Don't steal all the fun, Ryko!" said Sonic, and he came running over. Ryko switched and was now facing Sargent Simian.

"Come on, big guy!" said Ryko, landing a kick.

"What's a matter?" he said, landing a punch. Scourge tried to hit him in the back of the head, but Ryko ducked and he nailed Simian.

"Doing the dirty work for us, eh?" asked Ryko, but he got punched in the face by Scourge. He looked over and saw Sally about to be nailed it the face by Fiona; he rushed over and blocked the attack, sending a devastating punch into her stomach, sending her tumbling over.

"Thanks."

"No problem."

"How are we doin'?" asked Ryko.

"Not the best, but we're managing. Antoine might have head trauma from Amy and Bunnie is battling that weird frog guy, and she isn't doing too well. We might lose and have to retreat."

"I'll be damned if we have to lose and retreat. I won't let it happen."

"We'll have to."

"No…we..won't." Ryko gritted through his teeth.

What Ryko did next would be told to Sally's grandchildren in a hushed voice.

Ryko walked forward. His eyes were eerily determined. Sargent Simian went for a punch; Ryko stepped out of the way and kicked him in the back, sending him sprawling to the ground. Lightning gave a hard punch to his stomach; all Ryko did was look at him with anger in his eyes. Lighting goggled at him before Ryko nailed him in the face. Fiona rushed up to him; he took his fist and shoved her out of the way with a punch. Sally noticed that Ryko's fur was becoming darker by the second. Miles Prower tried to shoot him with a weapon; Ryko held up his fist and the bullet bounced off of him harmlessly. His skin was a navy blue and a purple aura surrounded him. His sclera turned white and his pupils were disappearing. Anti-Sally attempted to hit him; he let out a pulse of energy and she fell to the floor. The only one left was Scourge. He tried to punch him but Ryko grabbed his arm and bent it. Sally could hear the cracking of his bones. The group scrambled away. Ryko went back to his normal self.

"…what just happened to me?"

"You just kicked everybody's ass and sent them crying for their mothers." said Sally.

"I must have channeled my negative energy… you've done that before, haven't you?" he asked Sonic. Sonic shrugged.

"Once or twice."

When the shock wore off, Sally broke into a grin.

"That isn't important! We just beat them both!" Hades came out of his portal.

"You know how Ares loves kidnapping people?" asked Hades.

"Yes…" said Ryko, knowing exactly where this was going.

"Sadie's gone." Ryko stood there for a moment.

"Sally." he said, not turning around.

"Yea?"

"Return the favor."

"Absolutely, Ryko. Alright Knothole…"

"Let's repeat our last mission… with three new people to help out"

"Who's the third?" asked Antoine.

Sally took out her phone.

"Ryko, what's your friend's phone number?"

_Undisclosed Location, 12:30 PM_

When you wake up with a gag in your mouth, you know something is wrong.

When you wake up tied to a chair, you know you've been kidnapped.

When you wake up with Ares the Mesmer staring at you, you know you're about to get hurt.

Sadie thought she was about to get hurt.

"Why hello, Sadie."

"MHHHMMM!"

"Ah, yes. I love gags, especially since all of a villain's points tend to be untrue and insulting, and the gaged person can't say anything about it. Right, Bucc?"

"Yep." I said.

"Well, Sadie, it appears as if Ryko will try to come and save you. I've set a few traps to prevent such a thing. Have fun."


	16. Enter Ares

**I don't own Sonic or Sega.**

16. Enter Ares

The Freedom Fighters encountered 12 Robots within 50 miles of the base.

"Where's Laoch?" asked Sally

"Never never land."

"This is _not _the time to quote Metallica!"

"So you know what song I'm talking about!"

"I love Metallica."

"A royal princess likes Metallica?"

"Ryko!" she said, dodging a robot attack.

"Aw, come on! Did you see that Sonic Underground concert?"

"I get to see _every _Sonic Underground concert. I'm dating the lead guitarist."

"And you never gave me tickets?" he playful asked Sonic.

"Never got around to it. You wanna sing lead next concert?"

"Hell yeah! Manic and Sonia cool with it?"

"Sure! Robot to your left."

"Thanks."

10 more came.

"We can't keep up this pace!"

A being flashed briefly for a second. It flashed around the robots. Ryko knew who had just made his grand entrance. It flashed around even more. When it stopped, the robots fell. Standing in the center was Laoch.

"I haven't had some action in a while."

"Not since Unfamiliar Faces."

"Ooh, I read that!" said Sally.

"Then you would know that I'm fashionably late."

"Yea. How did you find this base, anyway, Sally?"

"Hacker."

"Forgot."

"Anyway, We need to get moving. Sadie needs saving."

"Yes, she does." Said a familiar voice. Standing in the middle of the smoke was Shadow the Hedgehog.

"It's the edgy hedgey himself! What brings you here, Shadow?" asked Ryko.

"I just got done hosting Anubis. I was bored and I thought I'd swing by. I heard your, um, predicament."

"Well, now that we have thing one and thing two, I think we made this 4000 times easier. " said Ryko.

As they were walking down to the base, Sonic got a little bored. He needed a challenge.

"Betcha I can make you cry, Shadow." said Sonic.

"You'd lose." said Shadow.

"Maria Robotnik." Said Ryko.

"Oh please, that won't… won't… Maria…"

"I win. I think that's the base."

"Chaos Control." said Laoch and Shadow in unison.

_Sadie's Jail Cell, 2:30 PM_

Sadie was underfed and beaten. She could barely keep her eyes open.

"R-Ryko." she said weakly, still believing his presence as a dream.

"It's really me, Sadie. Come on, it's me."

"She's suffering from dementia. She doesn't know what is and isn't real. She'll get better, but she'll need some rehabilitation. Her pain has to have come with some psychological torture as well." said Tails.

"Oh yes, I did." said the voice of Ares.

"What did you do to her?" demanded Ryko.

"I played the Sonic Underground theme for twenty four hours straight."

"You monster! No one deserves that!" said Ryko.

"Ah, but I gets better. I have the Freedom Fighters worst enemy. Guess who it's pointed at."

Sure enough, the bane of the Freedom Fighters rested in his hand; the roboticizer. And it was pointed at Sadie, still in her trance.

"Why is it on the ground?" asked Sally.

"What? It isn't on the-"

A bullet hit the roboticizer and it clattered to the ground. Ares looked up and saw Shadow with a gun out.

"It is now."

The Freedom Fighters plus the ultimate lifeforms surrounded Ares.

"It didn't happen like this on paper."

"Obviously."

"Now I play my trump card."

"And what would that be?"

Ares hit a button on a remote.

_Sonic Undergrrooouunnnd!_

_Sonic Undergrrooouunnnd!_

"No!" everybody shouted. The Freedom Fighters were on their knees; Sally, Ryko, Laoch and Shadow were still standing, clutching their heads in agony. When the song stopped, Ares was gone.

"Damn you, Sonic Underground!" said Sally.

"Oh well. We have Sadie. Hey, we gotta make it to the beach bash at Angel Island. I'm offering what I offered to you at the beginning of the chapter. Wanna sing lead? We all suck, except for Sonia but we can only use her for country songs."

"Sure, but do we have an opener?" asked Ryko. Sonic facepalmed himself.

"No! Any suggestions?"

"The Forget Me Knots."

"Great idea! I'll call Mina."

_Mina's House, 4:00 PM_

Mina was listening to some music as loud as she could possibly get it. When her phone rang, she barely heard it.

"Mina Mongoose."

"Hey, Mina."

That was Sonic's voice!

"We need you to open up for us tonight for the Beach Bash."

Was this some sort of joke?"

"You're kidding."

"No."

"AWESOME! We're in."

_The Beach Bash, 7:00 PM_

Sadie woke up on a towel on the beach. She immediately recognized the location as Angel Island, as there wasn't any water. She looked over to see loud music and a Sonic Underground poster. That was the Beach Bash! Sonic would know where Ryko went…

_The Beach Bash, 7:05 PM_

She didn't need to look for Ryko, as he was on stage singing 'Enter Sandman' by Metallica.

_Exit light!_

_Enter night!_

_Take my hand…_

He pointed at the crowd and they finished.

"OFF TO NEVER NEVER LAND!"

Ryko somehow spotted Sadie in the crowd and winked.

"He never ceases to amaze." said Sadie aloud. She then saw Mina Mongoose from the Forget Me Knots close to the stage. Next thing she knew, they were on to Cult of Personality.

_Like Mussolini, and Kennedy,_

_I'm the smilin' face on your T.V!_

_I'm the Cult of Personality!_

She was enjoying herself. She never usually liked concerts, but Sonic Underground was really good.

"Alright, everbody! We _know _everybody here knows this one!"

Sonic broke into the Crush 40 version of 'His World' the crowd went insane.

_Beware of the time as it moves along_

_Takin' you back always feared and strong_

_Like the rush of the wind he moves on and on and on and on and on_

_He's the fire, flame, conflicting pain, untouched and crushed and will remain_

_The one, the two, the three, the four_

_Headed straight for an unopened door_

_He can see, he can feel without one touch it seems unreal but it's true_

_The power lives inside of you - inside of you, yea!_

Ryko then gave the mic to Sonic, who, surprisingly, started rapping.

_C'mon light the fuse, he's a rocket and he's ready to go_

_'Cause now the countdown has started and he's ready to blow_

_He's got the dope sounds pumpin in his stereo (-eo! )_

_Kickin' ass fast... puttin' on a show! _

_C'mon and get yourself together, there's no time to rest_

_And if you put the time in he'll put you to the test_

_He's like a runnin' man, in his world, more is less_

_And if you wanna test him best bring your best_

_Don't make me spell it out, bring your best! _

The crowd loved it, Sadie included. She went backstage to go see Ryko and the gang.


	17. Preperations

**I don't own Sonic or Sega.**

17. Preperations

Sonic Underground was talking to Ryko when Sadie got to the back.

"You're a great singer, dude. I could tell you were havin' a little fun, too." said Sonia.

"Oh yea. We coulda used Sonia, but…"

"MY VOICE ISN'T THAT COUNTRY!"

"Yea, it is."

"Shut up, Manic. The point is, he did great."

"He sure did. Way to tear it up out there." said an emerging Sadie.

"Really think so?"

"Half the girls in the country now think so."

"Excellent. Guys, this is Sadie."

"Girlfriend?" asked Sonia.

"Yea."

"Well, not a bad choice, if you ask me. Anyways, join us again any other time! The Royal Rumble is tomorrow."

"We got invites."

"No way!" shouted Ryko, a smile on his face. The Royal Rumble was part of the MWF, the Mobius Wrestling Federation, and any Mobian they thought capable was invited. It was 15 entries. Three were just confirmed.

"Oh, so that's what these are for." said Sadie, pulling out two of the invitations, one with her name and one with Ryko's.

"Oh, you're all goin down!" said Ryko.

"Nah, I'm coming out on top this time, guys." said the instantaneously recognizable voice. Sally Acorn was holding up an invitation.

A portal of fire and a portal of darkness appeared and out came Anubis and Hades.

"Ryko, what are these?" asked Hades, holding two invitations. Ryko explained.

"So we get to fight worthy opponents! I like it." said Anubis. They both left.

"Well well well! Let's check out the instructions. We need theme songs. We also need wrestling gear, nothing else is allowed."

"What does that mean?" asked Sally.

"Well, normal boots must be wrestling boots."

"Ah."

"Well, that settles it. We gotta go down to the arena and see the GM for this year's rumble and submit everything. I wonder if Laoch got an invitation."

_On The Road to the Mobian Palace, 2:30 PM_

Sadie and Ryko were driving in the Cobra to their destination when Sadie asked a question.

"What do you really think of Sally?" Ryko hesitated then spoke.

"She's like the sister I never really had, you know? Nikki betrayed us, and she was the only family I had left… I just feel an urge to protect her and to watch out, because I don't want to lose another family member again. My mom is dead too, you know. I'm the technical definition of an orphan. She died last year, but… I just don't have a lot left, Sadie. I'm losing people to fight for." Sadie regretted asking the question. They were silent the whole way there.

_On The Road to the Mobian Palace, 2:30 PM_

Sonic and Sally were also driving in a car, this one a Bugatti Veyron. Sonic just had to go fast.

"So… what exactly to you think of Ryko?" said Sonic.

"He's like a brother to me. Elias just doesn't fit the bill. He's got my personality, where Elias is just… whatever. He's outgoing and wisecracking and he knows when to get the job done. That's someone who could be related to me. I just don't want to see him get hurt and I'm a little concerned about him sometimes."

"I see. Well, here's the Mobian Palace. I remember my win at the Acorn Stakes…"

Ryko met everybody at the gate and they went inside. They went to the GM's office and who was in it stunned them all.

"LAOCH?" they asked simultaneously. Laoch smiled.

"Of course! Why do you think I invited you! Anyways, just so you know, I've mixed it up a bit. There will be no gender separation this year; you will all be in the Rumble together." Murmurs swept through the crowd.

"Alright, now I need theme songs. Ryko."

They all told him what their selected theme was.

"Great. See you tomorrow for our extra-long special chapter!"

They were walking back to their cars when Sally asked a question.

"The Royal Rumble was in January… why would Bucc pick this now?"

"I don't know… that question remains unanswered. Let's go."

_Ryko's House, 3:00 PM_

"So, were at my house. What do you wanna…" The doorbell rang. at the door was Mina Mongoose.

"Hi Ryko."

"You know my name?"

"Half the girls in the country know your name. Anyways, I just wanted to congratulate you on your performance."

"I've been to like ten of your concerts, you guys ain't that bad either. Now, what's the _real _reason you're here?"

"Have you seen Ash lately?"

"No, I haven't. What happened?"

"I don't know where he is. Oh well. See ya." she left.

"Who was that?" asked Sadie.

"Mina. She was looking for Ash."

"Ah. Well, the film adaptation of _And Then There Were None _is out. Wanna go see that?"

"Sure."

_Movie Theater, 6:00 PM_

Ryko got called by Sally in the middle of the movie. Ryko got out of the theater and answered.

"This is Ryko."

"Hi."

"Laoch? What up?"

"Listen, don't tell anybody else, but I got a feeling that something is up."

"What?"

"Well, I had 3 people come to me who didn't get invites. Also, someone got attacked as they were walking out the door."

"Who?"

"Nice try. You don't get to know the contestants until they come out. You already know a few, though, huh?"

"Sally, Manic, Sonia, Sonic, Sadie, Hades, Anubis, Sadie and myself."

"You know more than half the contestants. Well, I just wanted to confirm my suspicions. What do you think?"

"I say keep a look out. You have to watch the match, don't you?" Ryko could feel Laoch's smile through the phone.

"I'm doing more than _watching _the match. See you tomorrow, Ryko. Good luck."

Ryko had a feeling he knew yet another contestant. He went back into the movie theater.

"What happened?" he asked Sadie.

"Vera just shot Lombard. Who was that on the phone?"

"Laoch. He had a feeling something was up."

"Well, if you leave again I'm gonna be the one killing you."

"The new Mrs. (_This last name has been censored in the case of someone not reading the book or in the middle of it)_, Huh?"

"If you don't sit down."


	18. The MWF Royal Rumble

**I don't own Sonic or Sega.**

A Bucc6 Special: The MWF Royal Rumble

"Hhheeellllloooo, ladies and gentleman, tonight we have a great show! It looks like our GM is coming out right now! What is he gonna say?" said Jerry the Hedgehog.

"I don't know, but I hate that guy! Laoch is so full of himself…" mumbled Michael the Hedgehog.

**Cult of Personality by Living Colour**

Laoch the Hedgehog entered through the curtains. The crowd was going absolutely crazy. He played with the crowd a little bit, slapping high fives and numerous other things. He got to the center of the ring and sat down, a microphone in his hand.

"Hello, everyone."

The crowd exploded.

"Tonight, we got some good stuff going on tonight. So, without further ado, I'll introduce the contestant who drew number one!"

**Cult of Personality by Living Colour**

"Me!"

The crowd blew up once again.

"This is what I mean by full of himself. He's in the rumble?" said Michael.

"Yea, but he got the worst spot!" said Jerry.

"And I have no idea who drew second so come on out!" said Laoch.

**Enter Sandman by Metallica**

Mephilies the Dark emerged from the curtain.

"Ha! That's Mephilies!"

"Oh, crap. Laoch's in trouble!" replied Jerry.

Half way through his entrance another theme hit.

**Click Click Boom by Saliva**

"That's Laoch's best friend, Ryko! What a coincidence that he should draw number three!"

"Too much of a coincidence, if you ask me! Ryko probably stole that number!"

"He did not! Would you just shut up!" said Jerry.

Ryko and Mephilies stared each other down for a while with Laoch sitting their bored. He picked up the microphone.

"If you don't get down here in the next 30 seconds you're both DQ'd. Tick tock."

They ran to the ring. Ryko and Laoch both hit Mephilies with a double clothesline. They picked him up and Ryko lifted him up, dropping him on Laoch's knee.

"Laoch is using Ryko to further his own gains. This is ridiculous!"

"The number is counting down! 5! 4! 3! 2! 1!"

**Sweet Child O' Mine by Guns N' Roses**

"That's Sadie, Ryko's girlfriend! Remember, we don't have gender separation in this Rumble! Anybody is eligible no matter who they are!"

Sadie walked through the curtain, a pair of sunglasses on her face. She got a lot of whistles from the crowd. Sadie broke into a run and slid through the ring. Ryko attacked her without hesitation. She flipped right up, a smile on her face.

"I wouldn't wanna date that guy! Hey, the clock is counting down again! That was quick! 3! 2! !1!"

**His World by Crush 40**

The intro to Crush 40's version of the song played and when the main melody hit Sonic himself burst out of the curtain to ear deafening cheers.

"Hey, the clock is going down again! What a weird royal rumble we have tonight!

**Highway to Hell by AC/DC**

"Oh, crap! That's Hades!"

Ryko and Sadie were still battling while Laoch had Mephilies on the ropes. Mephilies shook him and hit him in the face, sending him tumbling down. He grabbed him and threw him over the ropes.

"The first elimination is the GM! Hades is in the ring!"

Hades hit Ryko with a clothesline and grabbed Sadie by the throat, lifting her up and nailing her with a chokeslam. Mephilies hit Sonic with a hard punch. Hades and Mephilies were the only two in the ring standing and they stared each other down.

"Woah, Hades and- the counter! 2! 1!

**For Whom the Bell Tolls by Metallica**

Anubis walked out and stood on the entry ramp, staring at both of them.

"Wow! This is awesome!" said Jerry.

Anubis ran to the ring and Mephilies tried to attack. Hades held him by the arms and Anubis kicked him in the stomach.

"Is the counter malfunctioning? 3! 2! 1!"

**Won't Back Down by Eminem**

"Again, gender doesn't matter!"

"Neither does royalty, as that is Sally Acorn!"

Sally stood on the entrance ramp, wearing wrestling boots and her vest had the Acorn coat of arms. She also got whistles. She walked down the entrance ramp, to see Mephilies and Hades fly over the top rope.

"Anubis is on fire! Well, Hades is, but you know what I mean."

"Shut up! Sally and Sadie are going at it but Sadie was damaged in that chokeslam!"

Sadie flipped Sally's legs and she hit the floor. She put one of her legs in the middle of both Sally's legs and crossed them. She flipped around and yanked them backward.

"The Sharpshooter! Sadie has a Sharpshooter locked in on the crown princess!"

Ryko kicked Sonic's leg, bringing him down to a knee. He grabbed his head and hit a DDT.

"A DDT! Sonic may be out cold! No, he's responding! He's getting up! The counter goes down again! 2! 1!"

**Space Lord by Monster Magnet**

"Antoine D'Coolette is in the house, and he doesn't exactly look friendly."

"Yea, he seems mad about something. I wonder what it was?"

Bunnie ran up to him and he pushed her away. She tried again and she pushed him away again.

**Cult of Personality by Living Colour**

Laoch came out of the curtain.

"Bunnie, you know that it's an automatic DQ if you come out before your turn. I'm sorry, we'll have to have your spot filled."

"That sucks. Antoine gets nailed with a clothesline! In the ring we have Sally, who broke out of Sadie's hold, Sadie, Ryko, Sonic, and Antoine! Never mind, Antoine flies over the top, we have four! The clock goes down once again!"

**I Love Rock N' Roll by Joan Jett and the Blackhearts**

"Sonia is here and we now have 6 people left to enter! Who's it gonna be?"

Sonia ran in the ring and started taking on Sadie. Sally joined in and they started double teaming her. Ryko was fighting Sonic and it didn't seem as if one got the upper hand on one another. Ryko jumped on the second rope an connected with a hard kick to Sonic's skull.

"And Ryko hits the Beautiful Disaster kick, and Sonia flies over the top rope, were down to our original contestants! The counter goes down again!

**Break Down The Walls by Adam Morenoff**

"Espio is here! He is not allowed to turn invisible but he can use his horn on authorization of Laoch."

Espio ran into the ring and immediately nailed a spinning kick on Ryko.

"Man, Ryko is getting pounded. Hey, the clock.

**The Next Big Thing by Jim Johnston**

The crowd went insane when they saw who was on the titantron.

"We didn't expect him today but he's about to kick some ass! It's Knuckles the Echidna!"

Knuckles stepped out, cracking his knuckles. The fans loved it. His eyes were determined. Everybody backed up except Ryko and Espio, who couldn't wait to get their hands on him. Sonic was satying with the females for some reason.

Knuckles entered the ring and grabbed Espio with his right hand. He brought him up for a chokeslam but instead on bringing him down on the mat he brought him down hard on his knee. The crowd cringed. He effortlessly tossed him over the top rope.

"Espio is gone! Ryko is trading blows with Knuckles!"

Ryko hit Knuckles with a White Russian Leg Sweep and he fell to the ground. Ryko got up on the top rope.

"Ryko's going for a shooting star press! Knuckles is in a perfect position!"

Ryko jumped, flipping in mid-air. Knuckles got up and absolutely annihilated him, swing upwards with tremendous force. Ryko flipped over twice before hitting the ground. The crowd gasped in horror.

"Oh my god! Ladies and gentleman, Ryko isn't moving."

The titantron cut to the back where everyone was staring at the screen. Medical personnel came to the scene. After a few minutes, they whispered something to the announcer.

"Ladies and gentleman, I've just been informed that Ryko cannot continue."

They were hauling him out on a stretcher. No thumbs up or waves. He was out cold.

"Well, the fighting has continued… Sadie just got thrown over the top by Sally in distraction, but she doesn't care, she's running to the back as fast as she can. That was terrible. The counter is going down again."

**I Wanna Rock by Twisted Sister**

"Only Manic could have that theme song! Here he comes! Knuckles better watch out! Knuckles just hit Sally with a clothesline!"

**Cult of Personality by Living Colour**

Laoch appeared on the titantron.

"I just wanted everyone to know that the medical team has diagnosed Ryko with a severe concussion. He still isn't moving, but he'll be okay… in a week. For now, keep beating the crap outta each other."

"Manic gets tossed over the top and that leaves two contestants left! Who's it gonna be as the counter runs down once again!"

**Live and Learn by Crush 40**

"Tails! Is he even old enough to do this, Michael?"

"I don't know, but he isn't to be taken lightly! I interviewed him backstage and he says he's tired of being the little guy! I bet he has a whole lot in his arsenal!"

"Oh yea! Tails nails a kick right to Sonic's mid-section! He follows up with a DDT!"

**Cult of Personality by Living Colour**

"Ladies and gentleman, Ryko is now awake and wants to deliver a message live via satellite."

The crowd cheered.

The camera panned on Ryko.

"Knuckles." He said weakly. Knuckles gave a 'what?' gesture.

"You son of a % #$&"

The crowd cheered again.

"I can barely talk rignow, so don't be subrised if I mezzub my wors or forget them." he smiled.

"I just wanna say tha I'll be be-er in a week. And that I hope Knuckles gez his ass kicked."

The crowd cheered again; Knuckles smiled. The titantron disappeared.

"Well, that shows how bad of a condition he's in. Anyways, We have Knuckles, Sonic and Sally left in the ring. We have one more to go, number 15, but that must be Bunnie's number! Who would replace her? Sally gets tossed over the front rope and Sonic and Knuckles… hey! The counter! Who's the last one to enter?"

**I Am…All of Me by Crush 40**

The crowd went absolutely insane.

"Shadow? We didn't expect him to show up! It's Knuckles, Shadow and the Blue Blur!"

Sonic tried to launch a kick; Shadow caught it and slammed it down. He hit Sonic with his signature spinning kick and he fell to the floor. Shadow tossed him over the top.

"And our finalist are Shadow and Knux! Will it be the guardian of the Master Emerald or the Ultimate Lifeform?

Shadow hit Knuckles with a flurry of punches. Knuckles gave a flurry of his own until Shadow took Knuckles and lifted him up.

"He's going for the Ultimate finisher! I'm not kidding, that's what he calls it!"

Shadow dropped Knuckles and Knuckles land inbetween his legs, hitting the mat with a thud.

"He did it!"

Shadow effortlessly tossed Knuckles over the rope. The bell rang.

"Ladies and gentlemen, your winner, he is the Ultimate Lifeform, Shhaaaddoooww, the Heeddgggeeehhoggg!"


	19. All Hail Shadow

**I don't own Sonic or Sega.**

19. All Hail Shadow

Shadow stood in the ring for a second. He looked around at the screaming fans, and it hit him. He just won the MWF Royal Rumble. The fans started chanting.

"BOW YOUR HEADS LOW ALL HAIL SHADOW! BOW YOUR HEADS LOW ALL HAIL SHADOW!"

He smiled. He looked up at a poster on the ceiling and saw what it read; MWF No Way Out.

"BOW YOUR HEADS LOW ALL HAIL SHADOW! BOW YOUR HEADS LOW ALL HAIL SHADOW!"

"SHUT UP!" he screamed into the Microphone. The crowd loved it, and they obeyed him.

"In 17 days, there will be no… way… out!" the crowd roared and began chanting again.

"BOW YOUR HEADS LOW ALL HAIL SHADOW! BOW YOUR HEADS LOW ALL HAIL SHADOW!"

**Cult of Personality by Living Colour**

Laoch burst out of the curtain, and got heavily booed. He also got chants.

"BOW YOUR HEADS LOW ALL HAIL SHADOW! BOW YOUR HEADS LOW ALL HAIL SHADOW!"

To the pleasure of the crowd, Laoch did a low bow to Shadow.

"All… hail… Shadow!" Laoch said. The crowd roared.

"Obviously, you want a match at No Way Out. Who do you want your opponent to be?" Shadow was about to say something, but Laoch cut him off.

"No, you can't pick Knuckles, because a certain somebody already wants him." The crowd roared again, knowing who was going to be facing Knuckles at No Way Out.

Shadow pressed his lips to the microphone.

"You."

The crowd exploded. Laoch smiled.

"Really? Well, the battle of the ultimate lifeforms should be an entertaining one, don't you think? What type of match do you want to have?" Shadow answered immediately.

"Hell in a Cell!" the crowd was going crazy.

"Hell in a Cell! This is awesome!" said Jerry.

"The battle of the ultimate life forms? This is ridiculous!" Michael got up and Jerry was shaking his head.

"May I have your attention please?" the crowd booed.

"You want our attention? Fine, go ahead."

"This is absolutely ridiculous! It just shows how arrogant you are and ruthless you are! You don't have a beef with him, so why do you pick him? It's for arrogance! And the same for you, Laoch, you had no right to accept his challenge, you're just a stupid GM!" He stood there for a moment before it kicked in what he just said.

"Shadow?" asked Laoch.

"Yes?" asked Shadow, smiling.

"Let's kick his ass." The crowd cheered. They closed in on him and before he knew it, Shadow had his hands bind and Laoch was kicking him in the stomach. He dropped to floor.

Laoch turned to leave but Shadow tapped him on the shoulder. When Laoch turned around, Shadow blasted him with his signature spinning kick to the skull. He walked up the ramp, but turned around at the last second. He pressed the mic to his lips.

"ALL…HAIL…SHADOW!" the crowd roared and he threw the microphone down, exiting through the curtain.

_The Medical Center, 10:30 PM_

The whole gang rushed to the room, waiting to see what Ryko looked like. Sadie was sitting down next to his bed.

"Is he okay?" asked Sally.

"No! He isn't! That damn Echidna better be here right now and _better _give an apology!"

"An apology?" asked an entering Knuckles.

"I was doing my job."

"You sure did the job on him!"

"Sadie, cal dow." said an awakening Ryko.

"Hez righ. I knew the ris."

"The what?"

"The risk."

"Yea, but… but…"

"Listen Sadie. I came here to beat the crap outta someone and I did. That's the bottom line because Knuckles said so."

"Oh yea, that quote fits you perfectly. _Stone cold._" she stormed out of the room.

"Waz up wif er?" asked Ryko.

Shadow and Laoch entered the room, Laoch holding his head.

"You got a nice kick."

"I know."

"What happened while I was gone?" asked Laoch.

"Sadie's pissed, Ryko sounds like a three year old and Knuckles is acting like a complete jackass." summed up Espio.

"Excellent. I'll go talk to Sadie."

Sadie was sitting on a steel chair backstage. He pulled up another one and sat right next to her.

"It wasn't his fault. If it was anybody's, it was mine. I brung him here-"

"YEA YOU DID! YOU ALSO BRUNG FOURTEEN OTHER PEOPLE HERE WHO THE SAME THING COULD HAVE HAPPENED TO-"

"Sadie, shut up and listen to me. It isn't the end of the world, he'll get better. He'll be a little dazed, but think about this. When has Ryko ever given up? On anything?"

Sadie thought about Ship-Trap, her rescue, and his helping of the Freedom Fighters."

"Maybe I'm being a little uptight-"

"Yea, that's fits you perfectly. Stone cold." said Laoch.

"Okay, maybe a medium amount of-"

"YEA YOU DID! YOU ALSO BRUNG FOURTEEN OTHER PEOPLE HERE WHO THE SAME THING COULD HAVE HAPPENED TO-" mimicked Laoch.

"Oh, fine. Thanks."

"Welcome."

"Hey, what happened with Antoine and Bunnie? Was Antoine mad at her?"

"No, she was concerned. She didn't want him to compete."

"Why not?"

"He was attacked yesterday. And today, he was found lying on the ground with a fire extinguisher about 2 feet away from him."

"Really?"

"Yea. He got back up, though. Oh well." His watched beeped.

"We have more time… Espio! Antoine!" they both came.

"Go to that ring and beat the living crap outta each other for the people's entertainment. Now!" they ran to the ring.

"Alright. Well, thanks Laoch. I'll go back in there."

"Again, it's cool. "He walked out the building. Sadie went back to the others.

"Sorry 'bout that."

"No problem. Sadie, you don't mind if I talk to you in private, do you?"

"Uh… no."

"Good." she yanked her out of the room.

"Ryko won't be better for a while and we need someone now."

"You want me to help you?" asked Sadie.

"Yes, it's-" Laoch walked back in.

"Oh yea, I forgot to tell you. You two will be going to No Way Out, right?"

"Yes."

"Well, these two girls called earlier wanting to face you."

"What were their names?"

"Uh, I think one said her name was Fiona and the other's ended with 'Da'"


	20. Back to the Future

**I don't own Sonic or Sega.**

20. Back to the Future

It took Ryko three days for him to start talking normal. He was walking with the aid of a cane. He was at Sadie's house. He was sitting down watching TV when a beam of light engulfed both of them.

_Lara-Su's house, 7:30 PM_

They appeared in a living room and got flattened by a squirrel and a hedgehog. When they got up, a red Echidna with glasses and violet eyes was staring at them. So were the hedgehog and the squirrel.

"What the hell just happened?" they all said at once. Ryko looked at the squirrel and the hedgehog and realized they looked just like…

"You! Kids!" They jumped up in surprise.

"Who are your parents?"

"King Sonic and Princess Sally." they said shyly. Ryko smiled and turned to the Echidna.

"Considering the fact only a trusted person would take care of these kids, and that you're an Echidna, that must mean that your father is Knuckles and your mother is his girlfriend Julie-Su." said Ryko.

"Yea… they are. What's going on?" she said. Ryko looked at Sadie and her.

"We've just been teleported to the future."

_Lara-Su's room, 8:00 PM_

This is kinda hard to understand. You're both Ryko and Sadie! It was hard to recognize at first but now…"

"Why are you so excited that we're here?" asked Sadie.

"You guys went missing."

"Well that explains it. They must be-"

"In your time period. Your son, Kyren, has been looking for you guys for a while now. We should get you guys back to King Sonic."

"Thanks. What's your name?"

"Lara-Su."

"Okay. And how long will this trip to the castle-"

"Chaos Control!"

_King Sonic's castle, 8:10 PM_

They landed right in front of Sally Acorn. She shrieked but when she saw who it was she smiled, but then shrieked again when she saw how old they were.

"You're both 17!"

"Yea. So I heard we were missing. Sally, it's me from when I was, literally, 17." she looked at the cane.

"So you just got done with the-"

"Rumble? Yea. We came from the past, somehow, and we're guessing that your guys are in the past, and we've been switched." Sally could believe every word of it.

"You're son Kyren has been looking for you all over."

"Well, we could use his help. He's like another us!" said Ryko.

"Kyren!" shouted Sally. A dark grey hedgehog emerged into the hall.

"Who is it?" said Kyren.

"It's your mom and dad, but somehow they've been turned back to 17 years of age."

"I'll believe that."

"Can't you see us?" asked Ryko.

"No, I can't." said Kyren, smiling. It took a moment for Ryko to register.

"You're blind." he said softly.

"Yes, I am."

"Then how are you moving around like that… son?" asked Sadie, weirdly.

"He was blind since you two gave birth to him. But, for some reason-"

"My other senses were increased a vast amount. Not just the little bit it does when you go blind, but extraordinarily. I can tell how many people are in the room and I can identify some by their distinctive smell. I'm better off without sight then with it." he said, laughing.

"So it doesn't even matter?" asked Ryko, stunned.

"Nope. I'm a better shot then you, dad, at this age anyway."

"You're 15."

"Yep."

"Damn you, son." Kyren laughed.

"We need to get going. I'm gonna call my girlfriend, Rio. She'd like in on this little situation."

"You got a girlfriend before me? And you're _blind_? Bucc, stop making him awesome!"

"Do you need help dialing that number?" asked Sadie. Kyren looked directly at her, dialing the number faster than she dials her own.

"Yo, Rio. I have a, erm, predicament. Yea, you'll need to see for yourself. Very funny, that wasn't intended. Come on down."

Rio arrived within minutes. She skydived out of a plane.

"Does she do that all the time?" asked Ryko.

"Yep. She likes to arrive in style. We both wanna be G.U.N agents like you two. "

When Rio landed, Ryko could get a good look at her. She was red with deep blue eyes. Her hair was naturally down so she didn't need a headband, and half of it was resting over her shoulder.

"Damn you, Bucc! Damn you!" he said under his breath.

"I heard that." said Sadie.

She got a good look at Ryko and Sadie.

"What the hell-no,no,no, don't tell me. Where are we going." She asked.

"I believe we're gonna go to Ares' old base. That should give us some sort of clue to why the hell you guys were switched."

"Good thinking."

"I know."

"Cocky."

"Arrogent." said Kyren, smiling. He took out a Ruger P-89 and was loading some bullets in when Ryko noticed what the bullets were.

"Are those-"

"Black Talons." answered Rio.

"Those are-"

"Highly illegal?" asked Kyren, smiling.

"Yes."

"Who cares?" asked Kyren.

"True."

"We might as well go to that base. Kyren, do we have anybody nearby?" asked Rio.

"No, we don't. The base is east. Come on, guys."

"Wait a minute."

"What?" asked Kyren.

"Are you _sure _you can work that thing?" asked Ryko. Kyren rolled his eyes.

"Rio."

She took 5 cans filled with soda and threw one as hard as she could. Kyren hit it without hesitation. The next one, the next one, the next one. On the final one, she threw it behind Kyren. His ears perked up and he whipped around, hitting it just before it clattered to the ground.

"I will never doubt you again." said Ryko.

"Is anyone else carrying a weapon?" asked Sadie. Rio pulled out a 44. Caliber revolver.

"A revolver?" asked Sadie. Rio was about to open her mouth, but Ryko answered for her.

"I use them all the freakin' time. Revolvers are not only extremely powerful, they never jam. That's something everyone wants in a gun. Unfortunately…" He pointed to Rio.

"They aren't the most accurate guns. They can go off aim very, very fast."

"Exactly."

"Thank you, genius of firearms."

"You're welcome, learner of weapons."


	21. Making the Cut Sneak Peak

**I don't own Sonic or Sega.**

A Bucc6 Special: A Sneak Peak of Making the Cut, a GUNned Down Story

Kyren the Hedgehog was sitting in a restaurant, waiting for his food to come. It was taking ages.

_A good restaurant in Mobius? Yea, right._

He was the offspring of two legendary G.U.N agents, Sadie the Hedgehog and Ryko the Hedgehog. He, for some really weird reason, was a light grey, with pure white chest fur and bright red eyes. He was 'working' to become a G.U.N agent, but you have to be 16, and he was 15. His brother, Cesare, was pink with pink eyes. Funny how that turned out, as purple and white make pink and red and silver make a pinkish color. Cesare, like himself, was an expert swordsman, but he was better than Kyren. He was thinking about how whoever owns this restaurant should be arrested because of how slow the food came when 3 people burst through the door.

"We want all of your money, now!" screamed one.

_Finally, some action._

"I don't think so, fellas." said Kyren. They turned to look at him. Kyren noticed they were all weasels by their distinctive smell.

"And what are you gonna do about it?" asked one.

A gunshot went off; one of the weasels fell dead. Kyren had a gun under his table. He now took it out and pointed it at the weasel.

"That."

The door flew open again, and to Kyren's surprise and the gasp of the people at the restaurant, he realized that it was his dad. He had a confused look, although Kyren didn't know that.

"Kyren?"

"Don't worry, dad. I got this."

"Wait, he's your-"said one weasel in disbelief.

"So, why did you show up? These guys tried to rob this place."

"After stealing a car?" asked Ryko, smiling at the weasels.

Kyren smiled.

"Oh really? Well then, what should we do with these idiots?"

"We take them to a nice, cozy cell in jail, son." said an emerging Sadie.

"Hi, mom."

"Hi, sweetie."

"Well, throw them in the back of that stolen car. We can drive that down to the police station. Kyren, you can finish your dinner."

"I'd love too, if I had it."

"Ah… hey, didn't Tails just buy a chain of restaurants? I think there's one down at the Green Hill, if you wanna check that out. You might get your food faster-" Kyren already burst out the door.

"That boy's appetite is bigger than his ego." said Ryko.

"Huh, yea. Cesare is worse than that." said Sadie.

"In a different way. Kyren is extremely cocky and arrogant. Cesare is too harsh and brutal."

"I know that."

"The audience didn't."

"Anything else to tell them?"

"Not really."

"Alright."

_Tails' Restaurant, 7:30 PM_

_This is the best food I've ever had! Thank you, Tails! _thought Kyren. Why would Tails buy out a restaurant? He didn't know, nor did he care. The food came fast and it was good. He was eating when he felt that two girls were looking at him.

_Tails' Restaurant, 7:30 PM_

Rio and her best buddy Emily were eating their dinner and talking when Rio glanced to the left.

"Hey, that's Kyren."

"Who?"

"Ryko and Sadie's son."

"Really?"

"Yea, that's him."

"Why would he be here?" Rio laughed.

"Why wouldn't he be? Every other restaurant in Mobius takes 9 hours to get your food. Probably a relief."

"Yea, well, Tails likes to help people."

"Yea, but he's in Downunda right now with Mina on their honeymoon. Anyways, what should we do?" asked Emily.

"Let him eat."

"Too late."

"What do you mean?"

"He saw us."

"What's so bad about that?"

"He's coming over here."

_Tails' Restaurant, 7:40 PM_

"Do you girls need something?" asked Kyren, dragging a chair and sitting down.

""No, not at all." responded Rio.

"Ok, then. If you need to stare at me again, let me know." He walked back to his table.

"Jackass." muttered Rio.

"I heard that, sweetheart." said Kyren.

After a while, the girls saw him pay for his food and leave. The waitress walked over to them. Rio was about to pull out her wallet when the waitress stopped her.

"No, it's okay."

"Why?" asked Rio, confused.

"That man that just left paid for your meal… In the exact amount it was due."

"_What?" _

"Rio, who cares? A hot guy just paid for our food! It can't get better than that!"

"In the _exact _amount it was due? How could he have possibly done that? Did you tell him?" asked Rio, directing her question at the waitress.

"No, I swear." she said.

"Well, either Kyren is interested in one of us or he's just a freakishly nice person.

"That wouldn't be it. Kyren is supposed to be cocky and arrogant. He wouldn't do that out of generosity." said Rio.

"How the hell do you know all of this, anyway?" asked Emily.

"I want to be a member of G.U.N, remember?"

"Oh yea. Well, see ya, Rio."

"See ya."

_Rio's house, 12:30 PM_

One of Rio's most irritating habits was that she always slept in very late. She was wide awake now as a fiery portal opened up in her room and out jumped a rather scary looking hedgehog with dark red eyes and pitch black fur, although his chest fur was white.

"You're Rio?"

"Yea."

"Did you see Kyren last night?"

"Yea, and he saw us too."

"No, he didn't."

"What is that supposed to mean?" asked Rio.

"You didn't know? He's blind. He can't see." It took a moment to sink in.

"But how did he-"

"Every other one of his senses are heightened. He can hear and smell better than anyone in the world. Don't ask me how, but the tiniest sound waves can be detected by him, meaning footsteps, breathing, etc."

"So that's why he heard me call him a jackass."

"Yes. Anyways, look out for him. His ego gets him into tons of trouble. Understand?"

"Sure."

_Kyren's House, 3:30 PM_

"And that's how it happened." finished Rio. She was wearing her casual outfit, some hi-top converse and a plad skirt. She had a skull on her bracelet.

"So you just want to be my girlfriend to protect me?" asked Kyren, smiling.

"Oh, please. Not to mention you're extremely hot, too." she said, snuggling up close to Kyren.

"Yea, well, I generally am. Thanks for that very informing story, Rio."

"You're welcome. And you guys too, readers. Bucc wouldn't be anywhere without ya."

"Thanks for reading, guys. This story isn't sponsored by anybody because Bucc is too cheap to buy that kind of stuff, and they don't allow it on FanFiction."

"They allow Sonadow stories on FanFiction but not sponsers?" Rio asked.

"Stupid, huh? Well, thanks for reading and review."


	22. Back to the Past

**I don't own Sonic or Sega.**

22. Back to the Past

"Alright, Mom and Dad. Welcome to Mars." said Kyren.

"Really? Thought it'd be more red." replied Ryko, a smile on his face.

"This is Ares' old base. He's dead, but that doesn't mean he can't build a ridiculously powerful hologram behind. Rio and I haven't gone past the third floor, so you can follow our lead until then. Also, don't ask me what happened because doing that would create a time paradox. Are we ready?"

"Yes, we are. What do we expect to find in here?"

"Robots. Plenty of robots."

Sadie grumbled.

"Well, let us go in!"

They went through the entrance and looked around. Not a lot of stuff, probably because Rio and Kyren already cleared it out. They went down to the dreaded fourth floor and found, how about that, Sadie, more robots.

Ryko took out a revolver he borrowed from Rio and started popping rounds at the bots. They literally exploded on impact, probably due to the sheer power of the weapon. When reinforcements came, Ryko played his trump card.

"GRENADE!" he shouted , pulling the pin and tossing the grenade at the group. They all jumped behind a wall.

_BOOM!_

"No more Mr. Roboto." said Ryko, smiling.

"Thanks. Where did you get that grenade?" asked Kyren.

"I stole it from you."

"What? How?" he asked, checking to make sure. Sure enough, it wasn't there.

"Slight of hand. Cool magic trick and deadly weapon."

"How did you learn that?" asked Kyren.

"HA! I can do something that you can't! It's amazing!"

"I can't see. You can." He lamely pointed out.

"Yea, whatever. We should go down to the next flo-"

An apparition flickered in front of them.

"What was that?" asked Sadie.

"That had to be Ares. Let's move down a floor. How many are there?"

"Many."

Suddenly, a robot jumped from the shadows. Kyren took a gun and, without looking, shot it. It clattered to the floor.

"Keep moving." They started walking when that hologram flickered in front of them again.

"The anticlimactic villain shows himself again."

"Yep. I have a feeling we're getting closer to a boss fight."

"Cool. Let's keep going."

They fought more and more…and more robots with the apparition appearing longer each time. When they got to the last floor, it appeared and didn't go away.

"Ryko. Sadie. Hello."

"Sup, Coward." The apparition… laughed?

" I'm dead. I'm not a coward anymore. See, Ryko, I can hurt you…"

He teleported behind them and hit Ryko with a punch. He whipped around and kicked… into nothing.

"But you can't hurt me."

"You're tethered to a mechanical device. If we can find it-" began Rio, but a gunshot cut her off. They looked at Kyren. He smiled.

"Found it."

Ares began to flicker.

"What the…"

"I can easily detect mechanical waves with my ears."

"No… no!"

"Yes… Yes! Yes!"

"You're still a Daniel Bryan mark?" asked Sadie.

"I don't know how to answer that question without annoying you." replied Ryko.

Ares disappeared.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, this is the thing that brought you here." said Rio, inspecting a machine.

"Alright, let's go back to Rotor so he can send you off."

"We can't go right now?" asked Sadie.

"He needs to erase all of our memories. Then we can go back. If he didn't, blah blah blah time paradox blah blah blah death."

"Ah."

_Julie-Su's House, 3:30 PM_

Ryko and Sadie didn't know where they were. The last thing they remembered was watching T.V. Ryko sat up and felt a hard, cold object press his head.

"Dammit."

The person brought the gun down.

"Ryko? Sadie? Knuckles, get down here! It's them!" Ryko and Sadie turned around to see a very excited Julie-Su.

Knuckles came down the stairs.

"Ryko? Sadie? Where the Hell were you two? I was worried I wouldn't get an opponent tomorrow."

"Opponent tomorrow?"

"No Way Out. It's tomorrow."

"Really? Well, your goin down!"

"Remember what happened last time?"

"Yes, I do. But your still goin down."

"Whatever. Where were-"

"We can't remember. We couldn't tell you."

"We should get you back to Sal."

"Wouldn't mind."

"Ryko…" began Sadie.

"Come on!"

_The Mobian Palace, 4:00 PM_

"You don't remember." She said flatly.

"Nope."

"Well, nothing we can do about that. Speaking of people who can't remember anything, Shadow was looking for you, Ryko. He wanted to tell you something."

All the sudden, a flash of blue appeared and Shadow was standing on top of the table they were sitting at.

"You interfere in our match tomorrow…I'll show you why they call me the ultimate lifeform." He left.

"Well… we'll see."

"I wouldn't. Speaking of matches, are we gonna kick some ass tomorrow, Sadie?"

"Yes, we are. Lien and Fiona won't know what hit them!"

"You betcha! I need to get ready, by the way… hey, can you call Manic and Sonia, Ryko? We need Sonic underground to do a concert."

"Sure! They'll love it!"

"Oh course they will. Where's Sonic?"

"Probably eating a chili dog while watching a Shadow the Hedgehog parody." said Ryko. At that moment, Sonic opened the doors to the palace, a chili dog in hand.

"Guys, I just saw the most hilarious Shadow parody."

"Called it."

"Called what?"

"Nothing. Are you in a match?"

"The Stakes are tomorrow. Why would I be in a match?"

"Actually, you are. Laoch called."

"What? Against who?" asked Sonic.

"He said it may be the worst decision of his life, bringing the guy to the arena."

"He's _doing _it?" asked Ryko, stunned.

"WHO IS IT!" they all demanded at once.

"Oh No! I swore I wouldn't tell anybody!

"Come on, is he that dangerous?"

"Too dangerous to manage! I'm calling Laoch and telling him…" he flipped out his phone and started dialing number, walking away.

"Wonder who he got." thought Sally aloud.

"What, Enerjak? It can't be that bad." replied Sadie.

"No, I don't think so. Dimitri, Dr. Eggman? No, no, no… whatever. We'll find out. And if he's that bad, well, we can always all come out and kick his ass." said Sally.

"True. Well, better rest up. Big day."


	23. MWF No Way Out

**I Don't own Sonic or Sega.**

A Bucc6 Special: MWF No Way Out

**Break It Down (Instrumental) by The DX Band**

"No flippin' way!" said Michael the Hedgehog as Ryko and Laoch made their way down to the ring in an army jeep.

"Are they gonna start doing crotch chops?" asked a laughing Jerry the Hedgehog.

They did.

They made it down to the ring and they both picked up a microphone.

"Boy, do we have a show for you tonight!" said Laoch. The crowd cheered.

"That's right! We have an ultimate lifeform battle!" said Ryko in the microphone.

"And our friend here gets another shot at a certain Echidna!" replied Laoch, and the crowd went wild.

"We also have a few other matches tonight, such as Sadie and Sally against Fiona Fox and Lien-Da! And not to mention Sonic vs.… a very _special _person! SO IF YOU AINT DOWN WITH THAT!" shouted Ryko, obviously having so much fun.

"THEN YOU CAN…" Laoch pointed his microphone to the crowd.

"SUCK IT!" they shouted back.

They walked back up the entrance ramp, obviously telling jokes to each other as one would burst out laughing randomly.

_Backstage, 8:10 PM_

The camera panned to Sadie and Sally and the crowd cheered. They were talking about something but their words were ineligible. Suddenly, two voices were heard behind them.

"Well, well, well…" Sally and Sadie turned around to see their opponents for tonight.

"Hello, Lien. Nice to see ya, Fiona." said Sadie.

"You too, girls! We were waiting to talk to you! We wanted to tell you how bad we were gonna beat you tonight!" sneered Lien.

"And we wanted to check on your heads." said Sally, a smirk on her face.

"What? That doesn't make any-" began Fiona, but she stopped as a chair flew over both of their heads. They clanked to the floor, and when the camera panned up it revealed the smiling faces of Laoch and Ryko.

"Thanks, guys."

"No problem. I'm your completely biased GM ready to help. And that's Ryko."

"Hey, I saw a certain somebody in the building today. Is she in a match?" asked Sadie, smiling. Laoch smiled back.

"No, She isn't. She'll just be watching."

"Well, Lien and Fiona are locked in for a promo spot next. Can't wait to hear what they say."

_The Ring, 7:15 PM_

**You Can Look (But You Can't Touch) by Kim Sozzi and Jim Johnston**

"Dear god, here they come." groaned Jerry.

"Hey, they aren't that evil! I think there nice."

"And now I think your stupid."

Fiona and Lien made their way down to the ring and they picked up microphones.

"We are scheduled to face annoying and more annoying tonight." said Fiona, smiling.

"Oh yes. And we're gonna beat them so bad they won't be able to get out of the ring. "said Lien.

"Yep. And that means that tonight-"

**Click Click Boom by Saliva**

Ryko came out and the fans roared. He made a motion to settle down and he began talking.

"You know, ladies, I don't exactly take it too well when somebody says they're gonna beat my girlfriend so bad that she won't be able to walk out of the ring." The crowd loved it.

"What are you doing here?" they both asked simultaneously.

"I'm here to tell you that you'll be down on the mat for 3 seconds at the end of the match. Why? I'll tell you.

"First off, do you two even _like _each other? I mean, really?" the crowd cheered.

"And second, are you sure, Lien, that Fiona won't , I don't know, TURN ON YOU?" the crowd was loving it; Fiona and Lien were fuming.

"And the third and final reason, which is the most likely reason is that Lien will be thinking about a certain somebody who's in the building tonight." Lien flushed.

"Oh, you've seen him? Surprising, we have him contained… as of now. Well, no matter. I'll be there when Sadie and Sally beat you two. Oh, and one more thing before I go…"

He grabbed Fiona by her collar and chucked her out of the ring, hitting the concrete with a thud. Lien tried to rush him, but he quickly kicked her in the knee and locked her head in his arms, bringing her to the center of the ring. The crowd cheered.

"What? Ryko's gonna hit Lien with the Russian Roulette? No, this isn't right!" exclaimed Michael the Hedgehog.

Ryko made a gun with his hand and pretended to spin the barrel of a revolver. He pointed it at his head and mock fired, nailing a DDT. The crowd went crazy.

"That has to be the most exciting move in MWF history!"

"He did a DDT with theatrics!"

"Awesome theatrics! Lien took the chance and she lost! Ha!"

"That shouldn't have happened! A girl?"

"A girl? He was in the rumble, the gender separation didn't affect him and it doesn't now! Stepping in the ring with Ryko is like playing Russian roulette! And you're likely to lose!"

"Well, I still don't think it's justified-"

**Shot Down In Flames by AC/DC**

Sadie and Sally came out with a referee to huge cheers.

"WHAT? NO! THEY JUST GOT ATTACKED!"

"Laoch for ya."

Sadie rushed to the ring and laid down on Lien, hoping to get the pin, but she kicked out.

"So close."

"This…this isn't…"

"Then go do something about it! Oh, wait… what happened at the Royal Rumble again?"

"Shut up."

"I don't think so. Hey, what's Sadie doing? She's coming over here!"

Sadie had Lien on the announce table.

"Hi Sadie!" said Jerry.

"You wish." she said back, smiling.

"You got served."

Sadie kicked Lien's knee, bringing her down on it, and she clutched her head between her arms.

"WHAT?"

"Ha ha! Someone's taking a chance!"

She went through the motions, ending with the fake suicide, and gave a DDT… through the table.

"HOLY #$%&" proclaimed Jerry.

"9…10! Sadie and Sally just lost the match, but do they care?"

"Sally!"

Sally picked up Fiona and held her over her shoulders. She dropped her on her knee hard and then elbowed her hard in the stomach.

"The Royal Renounce!"

Sadie and Sally left the ring, both their hands held high. A medical team came and took the beaten pair away.

**The Next Big Thing by Jim Johnston**

"Well, well, well! Ryko better get ready!" said Jerry.

"Coming to the ring, weighing in at 3 foot 7, 88 pounds, he is the guardian of the Master Emerald and the most badass echidna on the planet, Knnuucckllesss, the Ecchhhiiiiddnnnaaa!"

He smiled threw a few mock punches, obviously anxious to see his opponent.

**Click Click Boom by Saliva**

And here he is! Ryko!

"And his opponent, weighing in at 3 foot 5, 77 pounds, he is the Ass kicking Assassin, RRRRRyyyyyykkkooooo, the HHeeedddgggeehhhooogggg!

Ryko was having a lot of fun. He slapped high fives, played with the crowd, the basic stuff. When the bell rang, they were ready to kill each other.

**We Are One by 12 Stones**

"What the…hey! Is that…"

Scourge walked out with the whole entire suppression squad.

"What the hell? We were supposed to have an awesome match between the two, but… hey!"

Every one of them rushed to the ring and started pounding on them both. Knuckles was holding them back, but Ryko wasn't doing so well, getting lost in a sea of suppression. Knuckles tried to peel them off but couldn't.

**Cult of Personality by Living Colour**

"I knew he'd show up! And he's got back up!"

The whole roster showed up, driving the Squad out of the ring and to the back.

"Whoa, look at Ryko's face… ugh…"

It was covered in blood. He was pointing to his leg and shaking his head.

"I think his leg is busted."

"Talk about bad luck!"

"Yeah, he's going to the back now. Look at Knux! He;s helping him to the back, great sportsmanship!

"Ladies and gentalman, the opponent Sonic would have fought has been escorted out of the building and was deemed too dangerous. So without further ado, I give you weighing in at 3 foot 3, 78 pounds, LLLaaaooocchhh, the Heeddgggeehhhooggg!"

**Cult of Personality by Living Colour**

Laoch came out to massive cheers. He was wearing a superhero cape thing and ran down to the ring, sliding in as pyro went off. The cell lowered on him, leaving Laoch confused.

"And now, he is confirmed to be present, weighing in at 3 foot 3 77 pounds, he is the ultimate lifeform, SShhhaaaddooww, the Heedddgggeehhoooggg!"

**I Am… All of Me by Crush 40**

Red fog filled the entire stadium, nothing being visible. When it cleared, the hedgehog himself was on top of the cell. The crowd was flipping out. Laoch was surprised, even more when, all the sudden, the hedgehog appeared right in front of him. He stumbled back and embarrassingly fell on his butt, causing ear deafening cheers. They backed up to their corners and when the bell rang, they immediately started hitting each other.

"Back and forth they go! Here we go, Shadow against the corner, getting pounded by Laoch's punches!"

Laoch started slowing down drastically, and Shadow took advantage by hitting him even more rapidly before hitting him with and uppercut that floored him. He popped back up and looked at him. They circled each other before Laoch hit him with a clothesline. He took him to the top rope.

He was about to lift him up when Shadow resisted. He then superplexed him the opposite way, through the cell wall.

"HOLY CRAP!"

Laoch was half dead while Shadow climbed up the cell wall to the roaring of the crowd. When Laoch came to, he looked up and started climbing himself. When they got to the top, they started hitting each other again until Laoch hit a nasty kick. Shadow was groggy, and it was time for Laoch to take out his anger. He viciously kicked Shadow's knee.

"In tribute to Ryko! It's time to play Russian roulette!"

He went through the whole motion and when he was about to hit him with it, Shadow grabbed him, lifted him up, and dropped him in between his legs while falling down.

"The ultimate finisher! Wow! On the cell cage! Now he has to get him to the ring to pin him-"

**The Game by M****ö****torhead**

"Who's that? Is this the beast that couldn't be contained?"

"There he… no…no…it can't be…"

Standing on the ramp in a very eerie fashon was the one and only Dr. Finitevus.

"Did he come back unnoticed?"

"Someone had to have helped him-"

"I bet it was Lien! She's gonna get us all killed!"

He climbed the cell wall and picked up Laoch, carrying him to the edge of the cell. He promptly threw him off of it. When he went to get Shadow, however, he fought back, throwing a barrage of punches. He then hit him with the Ultimate Finisher and the force drove both of them through the cell wall. They both struggled up, and Shadow sealed his fate by kicking him hard in the temple, knocking him out, and teleporting him away using chaos control.

The crowd, thankful and awestruck, started cheering their hearts out, before looking at Laoch in a pool of blood and stopping in disgust. He obviously wasn't moving and, in a very unshadowlike gesture, Shadow was calling for a medical team and checking on him.

"Well, the pair didn't have to much luck tonight, I hope Laoch will be okay."

"We only had one match that was finished and that was intentional! Man, this sucks!"

"Oh well. What a show tonight! Two invaders came, one by complete surprise in the suppression squad, the other in the scary Dr. Finitevus."

"That has to be the scariest SOB in the history of the MWF. Man, does this suck. Hey, shade running out to check on him. Ladies and gentlemen, that was a 25 foot fall on his head he took. If he wasn't immortal, he'd likely be dead."

"Well, that's our show for tonight. See ya, ladies and gents."


	24. The Psycho Game

**I don't own Sonic, Sega, or a certain puppet.**

23. The Psycho Game

Sonic and practically everyone else he knew were getting ready for the Freedom Stakes. Should Sonic win, he would be the Triple Crown winner.

"Where did Ryko go?" asked Sadie, looking around.

"He said he went to the bathroom. You could go check there."

"Female species."

"Fine, I'll go." said Shadow.

Minutes later, he came back running.

"Look at this." he said, holding a note.

_Too Late. He's already broken._

_Ares_

"How are we going to find him? Sonic and Shadow need to race-"

"I've already scratched us. We need to go, right now."

"Where? The odds of finding him will be next to nothing." said Tails. Shadow gave a very rare smile.

"I'll take those odds."

_Undisclosed Location, 3:30 PM_

When Ryko woke up, he knew something was wrong. His leg was perfectly healed. He noticed that the room he was in only had a T.V. It started to produce static and on the screen appeared Ares.

"You're up."

"Ares, what the hell are you doing?"

"I would like to play a little something I call 'The Psycho Game' I guarantee that by the end, you will go mentally insane. You may even end up killing yourself, if my hypothesis proves correct. Anyways, you will walk into three rooms, each with a test. If you pass, then you will be able to move on. If you pass the final test, then I will allow you to leave, that I swear. You may enter the first door."

Ryko slowly opened the door to find Laoch and Shade tied to a chair, both beaten and bloody. They both seemed to be unconscious.

Ryko went up to one of them and punched as hard as he could. It went straight through 'Laoch'.

"Nice try, Ares. Open the door."

"Clever. I didn't think it would take you long to figure that one out, although I bet that image will last in your head for a while."

It did. Ares had this whole thing planned out. Coward as he was, he was beginning to see how much of a genius Ares was. Maniacal, yes, but a genius. He went on to the second door and cautiously opened it.

Inside the room was Sadie and a man he had only seen in pictures, his father Conan.

"No…" muttered Ryko, clutching his father's necklace, who, in eerie similarity, had the same one on.

"Illusion… illusion…"

"Me? An illusion?" asked Sadie coming up close and stroking his quills.

"Illusion…" muttered Ryko again, attempting to shove away the figure, who was solid.

"We are merely the truth, Ryko. Not illusions, not the lies that you have become to know. We are what really matter."

"No… you aren't real!" said Ryko, trying to shove off the figure again. Why was this happening? He knew all of it was a game… so why was he freaking out?

"Come on, Ryko… it's okay… "

"Get away!"

An earthquake suddenly shook the room and one half of the floor fell. He grabbed on to the upper half, where Sadie and his father stood. He knew there were illusion, so why…

He held out his hand, not knowing why. He wanted a sense of security from somebody, something… 'Sadie' smiled.

"I'm sorry, Ryko."

"But now it's time to go." said his father, both of them stepping on his foot.

He took a hard fall, all the way down thinking why they would do such a thing, before the thought that they were just illusions. He slid hard into a room and hurt his ribs. When he looked up, he noticed the door was wide open and there was nothing in the room except for something on the floor.

In a cruel and sadistic joke, a revolver with one bullet beside it lay in the center of the room. Ares must have seen the MWF show.

The door lay wide open.

The revolver lay on the floor, the bullet beside it.

Ryko looked at the door, wide open. If he took it, he would be free to leave.

But for some reason, the revolver seemed…

Calling.

He picked it up and sat cross legged. He put the bullet in the chamber, spun it around, and pointed it at his head.

_Outside the Undisclosed Location,4:00 PM_

"Keep going, Knux!"

"It's _pouring _rain!"

"That doesn't matter! We need to get to him before he tries to, I don't know, kill himself!"

"Come on, Shadz, no way! Ryko wouldn't do that!"

"We're talking about Ares, aren't we?"

"Who cares! Sally, did you find anything?"

"Yea! There's a door right here!"

"And?"

"It's open!"

"Let's go!"

_Undisclosed Location, 4:10 PM_

He was about to pull the trigger when all of his friends burst through the open door. Sadie was the first to see what he was doing and her eyes went wide from shock.

Ryko, seeing all of his friends there, grasped reality and quickly dropped the gun. He stared into Sadie's dark red eyes.

They say that the eyes are a gateway to the soul. In Ryko's, Sadie could see dark, unforgiving. Ares, contradictory to Ryko's spirit, managed to crack him and make him lose his grip.

Ares walked into the room at that moment.

"Well, I guess my hypothesis-"

"ARAAGGH!" Sadie screamed. She picked up the revolver, aimed it at Ares' leg, and shot.

Ares, fully expecting the gun to be empty, was surprised when he heard the loud pop meaning that the gun had gone off. He looked at his leg to see it pouring blood.

"What?"

"Game over, Ares!" shouted Shadow, jumping up and trying to land a kick, but Ares managed to teleport away.

"Damn that hedgehog." muttered Shadow.

Ryko slowly got up, to which Sadie fiercely hugged him, tears dripping from her eyes.

"That chamber was loaded…you wouldn't be here right now…idiot…"

Ryko had nothing to say, still comprehending what he was about to do, everything that had happened. Ares had become so close to achieving what he wanted… eerily close.

In fact, Ryko was starting to wonder if he had accually done it.


	25. The Wonders of Boredom

**I do notith own Sonic the Hedgehog or thy Corperation of Sega.**

24. The Wonders of Boredom

Ryko got a little bit better, although he had to stay at Sadie's house because it brung more comfort to him. Ryko was on the couch drink Coke-a-Cola, like always, when Sadie walked into the room.

"Hey, I have a friend from the Mobian Backcountry coming down for a few weeks. She says she managed to recover a plan for a doomsday machine by Ares.

"Convienent. We should make food. I can make cupcakes-"

"NO!"

"W-why not?"

"Sorry… I read a fanfic…"

"It scared you that bad?"

"I will never eat a cupcake again."

"Alright… I guess I can make something else…"

"You can bake?"

"Yea. I got bored one day and I was also hungry, so I wanted to make myself a cake. I found out that I'm pretty damn good at making a cake."

"Well alright then. In the meantime, what do you wanna do?"

"I don't know."

"Come on, it's about time you've seen the guys in a while."

"Nor do I want to. By the way, your friend is going to be another extremely attractive hedgehog, won't she?"

"I don't know, I guess."

"Bucc will probably do it to torture me."

"Yep. Anyways, get outta here. I heard Sonic was at the Forget Me Knots concert."

"I have to buy tickets."

"Yes, you do. If you don't like that, then Shadow is somewhere near here."

"Very specific."

"Thanks. Anyways, get out of here. I have to make preparations."

_The Mobadome, 1:30 PM_

"Those tickets barely cost me a dime!" said Ryko, walking to Sonic who was bobbing his head to the music.

"_Your motorin'!_

_What's your price for flight?_

_Or finding Mr. Right?"_

"Hey, Ryko! I thought you were still mentally unstable."

"Yea, well… what have they played so far?"

"Jukebox Hero. That's it."

"I see. So, what's going on?"

"Amy hacked onto my facebook account and changed my status to 'I love Amy Rose' "

"I saw that."

"Well, at least Sally knows that it was a hack."

"How?"

"She's a hacker."

"That statement contradicted itself."

"Whatever."

After the concert was over, Ryko and Sonic went to congratulate them all.

"Nice job, guys. Love your music." said Ryko.

"You seem to feeling better." joked Sonic.

"Yea, I guess I am."

"Well, I gotta go find Shadow."

"Why?"

"I dunno. Bored."

"Well, I don't know where he is."

"A lot of vagueness today. Oh well, I suppose I'll find him somewhere around here."

"Alright, see ya."

_Central City, 3:30 PM_

When Ryko saw energy blast in the distance, he knew exactly where the hedgehog he was looking for was. He was locked in battle with Doctor Finitevus.

"Hey, Shadz. Mind if I join in?"

"Yes."

"Too bad!" said Ryko, charging up a homing attack and launching it upon the man who put his best friend in stiches. He managed to hit him, with no damage.

"He's got some sort of shield around him using all that chaos energy." said Shadow.

"I noticed that." replied Ryko.

"Got any ideas then, smartass?" asked Shadow.

"Well, if you hit him with multiple Chaos Spears in a row Dragonball Z style, the impact being so great that he can't see I might be able to sneak in and hit him in an uncovered place."

"Dammit." He started firing relentless energy blast, and Ryko quickly snuck up behind him, finding a place where it appeared his shield wasn't up, which was a little place in the back. He hit it hard and the doctor wailed in pain.

"There ya go, big guy!"

"That only did a little bit."

"Well finish him off!"

"Fine. Chaos… Control!"

He teleported behind him and sent a barrage of attacks to the weak point. He ended up retreating somewhere.

"Done."

"Congrats, Shadow. Say, have you seen anybody else around here?"

"Espio is at the grocery store. Don't ask."

"I won't. See ya."

_Mobix, 4:50_

"Espio, what the hell are you doing at a grocery store?"

"Charmy wanted more bags of sugar and Vector wants… well, everything."

"And they sent you on this mission…why?"

"That, my friend, is a mystery I'll never solve." they both started laughing.

"Well, the only thing that would make this not boring would be if the store got held up."

"If only-"

"PUT YOUR HANDS IN THE AIR!" screamed somebody from the back.

"Oh, it's on!" shouted Espio and Ryko simultaneously They ran to find the criminal and found him threatening a cashier. Espio ran up to him and hit him with a barrage of punches and kicks and threw him into a magazine rack. He tossed him over to Ryko who blasted him in the chin with a kick. He grabbed his collar and shoved him into some apples, which tumbled onto the floor on top of him. Ryko picked one up and bit into it.

"A job well done, my fellow purple assassin."

"Indeed."

"Well, I better get out of here. Sadie's friend will be showing up soon. If Vector makes you do this again, call me. We might just find a robber again."

"Cool. See ya, Ryko."

"Later."

_Sadie's house, 5:00_

"Hey."

"You just barely made it."

"Yep. Now if you'll excuse me, I need to go to the bathroom."

"Ugh."

When he was done, he started to walk back to the hallway when he saw Sadie's friend walk through the door; a very light blue hedgehog with an unbuttoned plaid shirt, the sleeves rolled hair wasn't bound, just like Sadie's. She was wearing military combat boots.

"You again, AJ?" said Ryko, a smirk on his face. She stood wide-eyed for a moment.

"That's your boyfriend?" she asked skeptically, only the slightest twang in her voice.

"I'm assuming you two know each other."

"This one saved my life on a mission a year back."

"Only because you saved my father's."

"Oh, great. So, now that I don't need to introduce you, I must ask what happened on that day."

"Well, it was a standard mission G.U.N gave me…"


	26. Running for Miles

**I don't own Sonic or Sega.**

25. Running for Miles

_A/N: The following chapter is loosely based on the song "Barton Hollow" by the Civil Wars. If you haven't heard it, then you can listen to it on YouTube or just read the chapter. _

"So this guy… he killed one of our members for 100,000 dollars?"

"Yes. He lives in the Mobian Backcountry. Go find him, kill him, and come back to get your bonus. He's a dead man walking. Is that clear enough?"

"Yes, it is."

"Good. Be careful."

"Will do."

_Target's house, 5:30 PM_

Ryko stood outside the house, a straight face. It was a very large wooden house, with many windows and what appeared to be three stories. He shrugged and walked in the house. Unbeknownst to him, a girl was watching him through the window.

_The Living Room, 5:31 PM_

The last thing Ryko expected was to get jumped by a girl his age in the living room. He dodged a kick and got a punch straight in the stomach, followed up by a strong kick to his jaw. When he finally managed to get up, he tasted blood in his mouth and realized it was trickling. The girl threw a punch, which he caught in his hand, much to the girl's amazement.

"Okay, do you want to kick my ass or say something? Because I can do this all night, but it wouldn't get anywhere for either of us."

"My daddy was framed! He didn't kill anybody." He dropped the fist and got another punch in the mouth.

"Woah, woah, woah! You say he was framed. You sure?"

She nodded, determination in her eyes.

"They killed that man, put weights on him and sunk him in the water! They knocked my daddy out and put backcountry clay on his hands to make it look like it was blood! Then they put him right next to the spot and put 100,000 unmarked dollars in his backpack! It was a complete set up! And who are you, some underground assassin working for his family or something?"

"I work for G.U.N"

"Really? I got a friend who works down there… what do they want with Daddy?"

"That man that he may-or-may-not have killed worked for us. We don't take murders lightly. I deal with problems like that. G.U.N is the trainer, I'm the dog. They let me off my leash… you know."

"I see. Well, I guess you believe me."

"I do. And now we change plan. Where is your dad?"

"Hiding."

"Well, that won't be a problem… if he doesn't come out… for eternity… but we need to find the person who did this to him. THAT is my new target. Speaking of which, what's your name?"

"AJ"

"Well, AJ… We need to assassinate somebody. Don't worry, it will be fun!"

_The Hollow, 6:00 PM_

"Someone's coming, boss."

"Who?"

"We got a purple hedgehog, he's a male, and we have a female light blue hedgehog.

"The girl is his daughter…anything else you can tell me?"

"Well, let me see…he's got a G.U.N patch on his weapon belt."

"Dammit…well, we better send out the guards. They should be able to kill those two easily."

"I don't know…he is a G.U.N agent, after all."

"If there's one thing I learned about G.U.N, it's that they have the baddest bark on the planet, but they NEVER deliver. Trust me, they won't present us with a problem."

"Alright…what if they do?"

"Then go and kill them yourself! God, do you have to make such a huge deal out of things?"

"Well-"

"Send the guards."

"It's just-"

"SEND THE FLIPPIN' GUARDS BEFORE I DECIDE TO-"

"Alright! Guards, we have intruders on the left wall, go ahead and take care of them."

"Yes sir."

_Outside the Hollow, 6:03 PM_

"We got company."

"Where?"

"Right there." About 10 guards with batons were rushing towards them.

"Do you know how to fight against a baton?" asked Ryko.

"How hard can it be?" he pointed to one of his many scars, this one on his shoulder.

"Trust me. Don't try to grab the baton, and don't try to disarm either. Dodge it and take them out as quickly as you can, you get hit with that thing, your done."

"Alright…and you've done this before."

"More times than you, sweetheart. Get ready."

They all raised their batons. Ryko dodged one and launched his foot upward, hitting them in the chin and sending them down like a sack of potatoes. When one went for AJ's heart and then temple, realization dawned on her.

"They're aiming to kill!" she shouted.

"I kinda noticed that!" he snapped, sweeping one's legs from underneath him and steeping on his face as hard as he could, jarring the chameleon's skull and knocking him out.

"Should we?"

"No! Knock em' out!"

When they were done, an orange Echidna walked up to them.

"I knew boss was wrong. G.U.N can really get it done if they want to. Unfortunately, I'm afraid I'm gonna have to kill you. Prepare to-"

A gunshot went off and he fell to the floor. Ryko had taken out a revolver and shot him as he was talking.

"I thought you said to knock him out!"

"He was gonna be trouble. Let's go kill the guy already."

"Okay. Where is he?"

"Right here." said a voice. A gun barrel pressed up against AJ's head.

"Dammit." said Ryko, not in anger, but in annoyance.

"That's right! What are you gonna do when your little girl is-"

Another gunshot went off, but it didn't come from Ryko. It came from a white hedgehog behind them his eyes still aiming behind his sights.

"Daddy!" screamed AJ, going up to hug him.

"Oh god…" muttered Ryko as her father walked up to him.

"Why?"

"…You aren't going to kill me?"

"Why did you spare her?"

"It was obvious she was telling the truth. I don't kill innocents."

"Well, thank you. We better go."

"Bye, Ryko. Nice meeting you." Said AJ.

"See ya."

_Sadie's house, 3:00 PM_

"So that's what happened?" asked Sadie, intrigued.

"Yes, that's what happened. Now, what about those plans?"

"Oh yea! Well, there right here." She opened them and the whole entire paper was in code.

"What does it say?" asked Ryko.

"He has a massive plan, but he found a defect. He took it out and hid it deep within an ancient ruin.

"Which one?" he asked, hoping he would get the answer he expected.

"Runkensa. The valley of death."


	27. Ryko and The Valley of Death

**I don't own Sonic, Sega, or the brilliance of** **Rush.**

"Here we are. Runkensa, the Valley of Death." Said Ryko, looking at the huge ruins that loomed over top of them.

"Charming." said Sadie, looking at something on her phone.

"So, what strategy did you plan for this expedition?" asked A.J, looking at the front door of the ruin. Ryko gave her a puzzled look.

"I was just gonna walk in and find the defect." Ryko replied before moving up to the door of the ruin and pushing on it.

"It…won't…open!" he said. Studying the door a bit further, he found some words in an awkward language etched into the stone door.

"It's some kind of code!" he said, tilting his head different ways as if to see a secret message.

"Ryko, that's Latin for 'Pull'." said Sadie as she pulled the door open.

"…Oh." Ryko replied before walking in the ruin.

They began walking into the ruin, seeing various ancient sketches on the walls of the ruin.

"So, why is this place called the Valley of Death again?" asked A.J, studying the sketches on the walls.

"This place was used for sacrifices by some ancient tribe. By the time archeologist found the place, hundreds of mass graves were found underground littered with gold and other riches. So, the only thing they could think to name the place was the "Valley of Death" until they found "Runkensa" all over the walls of the ruin. So, that is how it came to be." answered Sadie.

"How do you know all that?" asked Ryko.

"Wikipedia."

"Cheater. Anyways, I always dreamed of seeing this place ever since I was a kid. My dad used to tell me stories of the place at night, always with me finding some amazing treasure. The place is even cooler than I imagined."

"Well, enough story time. That defect is somewhere within this ruin, and we need to find it." said A.J.

They kept walking until they hit a dead end at the ruin.

"This wall has Latin on it as well." said Sadie.

"What do I need to pull?" asked Ryko.

"Nothing. 'In order for everything to become with the light , one must make the ultimate sacrifice.'" Sadie recited.

"When did you learn Latin?"

"Same time I learned German, French, Spanish, Italian, Ancient Egyptian, Navajo, Chinese, Japanese, Serbian, Arabic, Hebrew, and Greek."

"Amnday." replied Ryko.

"Back to work. If what the wall says is true, we need to sacrifice someone. I really-Ryko, put the pistol away-hope it doesn't come to that, but I don't really see another way." said A.J.

"If only Anubis or Hades were here." said Ryko.

"You called?" said a voice behind them. They all whipped around to find Anubis standing behind them.

"How to we open this wall?" asked Ryko.

"Did you read the words on it?" asked Anubis.

"We did, but do we have to sacrifice one of us?" asked A.J, a look of fear showing on her face for the first time Sadie could remember.

"It doesn't mean a literal sacrifice. Only one hedgehog can go through that wall."

"Then let it be Ryko. I'm not in the mood to get killed today." said Sadie, with a very Laoch-like grin on her face.

"Thanks, Sadie. Appreciate it." said Ryko.

Anubis pointed to the wall. Ryko slowly walked through it, appearing on the other side.

Sadie and A.J stood amazed for a second until Sadie began to speak.

"Well, I'm bored."

"Shouldn't we be checking on him periodically?" asked A.J.

"Nah, he'll be fine. He is Ryko the Hedgehog."

"Exactly."

"You know, he _is _a lot smarter than he looks. A genius, actually, when comes to life or death matters. He jokes around a lot, but I think that's because he needs something to disguise his sorrow for his dad's loss. " explained Sadie.

"…"

"…You okay, A.J?"

"I...I really never thought of it like that."

"Me neither." replied Sadie, before starting and app on her phone.

"What are you doing?" asked A.J.

"I'm calling for back-up. I have a feeling that Ryko won't just walk into the room where the defect is held, pick it up, and leave. Whatever this defect is, it was probably put here on purpose."

All that was left in the part of the ruin was a long, spiraling staircase. Ryko slowly descended the stairs until he got to a door with Latin words written on them:

"_Alius toy, qui se adiuverunt perdere_

_senior humanum genus_

_oblivisci tua de inepta arbitratu_

_non con consilium!"_

He quickly put them in a text message and sent it to Sadie.

Sadie immediately got the text. As soon as she read it, she smiled and began to sing:

"_Another toy that helped destroy_

_The Elder Race of man_

_Forget about your silly whim_

_It doesn't fit the plan!"_

"Where is that from?" asked A.J.

"The greatest musical album ever produced. _2112 _by the band Rush. The title track is a 20 minute long epic about a person who finds a guitar from a cave in the year 2112 where the 'Priest of Syrinx' have an iron grip on his nation, banning creativity. That passage is when the person shows the guitar to the priest only to receive their anger towards creativity. Apparently, it was written in Latin on a wall Ryko just found."

"B-But that means-"

"Exactly. The album was made in 1976, meaning that either it was written around that time, unlikely, or-"

"It was written a little bit before we got here." said A.J.

"Correct. Those lyrics could also be talking about a defect of some sort; in this case, something that didn't fit Ares 'plan." said Sadie.

"Why would he write those lyrics, though?" asked A.J

"'Cause he's a jackass, that's why. Probably thinks he's in an Indiana Jones movie."

"Well, what do we do? It has to be some kind of clue."

"Yea, and it's probably hidden in the lyrics or the liner notes of _2112_."


	28. Grand Finale

**Well, this is it. I don't own Sonic or Sega, and I hope the finale is a good one.**

The wall slowly sunk into the floor as Ryko passed through the now empty space.

"I love _Rush_." He said to himself as he began walking down the yet another long path.

He quickly got to a small chamber. It had a stone door with a built in handle. Ryko stood there, pulled out a .44 Magnum revolver and swung it open, holding the gun in combat position. He expected to find some robot part for a generator that didn't work, or something along those lines. What he did find was nothing close.

The seven chaos emeralds were sitting on a pedestal in the middle of the room.

"Beautiful, am I right?" said a voice behind him. He whipped around to find Ares behind him with his arms behind his back.

"Yes. More than anything I've ever seen." He replied, still holding his pistol at the ready.

"Sadly, not part of my plan. See, I happened to be building something. A super weapon, if you will. I was going to put the final touch on it, the most powerful artifacts on Mobius, to put perfection on the most powerful thing that ever walked this planet. But, alas, I couldn't use them. The weapon, or, being, repelled them."

"No…" Ryko said, knowing immediately who Ares was talking about.

"You see, everything leaves a trace. You're friend thought he defeated his longtime enemy with a duel Chaos Blast. Which_, theoretically_, he did. But there is still one thing left; genes. DNA. And I was able to retrieve it. Out in the middle of a desert, I was able to retrieve the DNA of a monster capable of destroying cities. And now…" Ares revealed a controller from his right hand and pressed a button on it.

Down from the ceiling descended a pod. It rested on the floor and then suddenly opened.

Inside was a creature Ryko assumed to be dead. But, he looked more alive than ever.

He stepped out. He easily towered over both Ares and Ryko. His sclera was a dark yellow, yet seemed to be glaring. His fur was a light turquoise, and his eyes were a deep purple.

The Echidna had returned.

"And you thought I was being a coward? That I was anticlimactic? I needed more time, Ryko. And now I have it. By the way, don't think of reaching for those emeralds. They're protected by an electrical current that will shock you and kill you should you touch it. Oh, and one more thing."

"What?" he asked, nervously waiting for a surprise attack.

"The door behind you locked when you came in. I'm locked in here. He's locked in here. And _you _are locked in here. I have the key, of course, but to get it you'll have to kill me and him, and that seems a little bit challenging, does it not? Now, Echidna, DESTROY HIM!" he said, pointing to Ryko, who just stood there in wait for the end.

The Echidna glared at Ares.

"Go on. Kill him."

The Echidna took a step towards him.

"N-No, attack him. HIM!"

Ryko smiled.

"Oh, Ares…as one does not simply _walk _into Mordor, one does not simply _control _the Echidna." He said.

"Y-You were supposed to obey me! Do my commands!" Ares said, kneeling before the beast in fright.

The Echidna took one last look at the dark green hedgehog before driving his fist into him. A crack and vibration filled the room as his fist drove through the concrete, along with Ares. Finally, the Mesmer had perished.

Ryko threw a grenade down the hole, just to be sure.

The Echidna turned toward him.

"Um, do you mind if I make a phone call?" he asked, taking out his iPhone.

The Echidna slapped it out of his hand and it cracked to pieces upon impact.

"That was an iPhone 5! I paid good money for that thing-"

Ryko was slapped across the room, and hit the wall with a thud. At least 4 of his ribs were cracked, possibly five. He smiled and waited for an end.

It didn't come.

Instead, a swirling portal of fire opened in front of him.

Hades stepped out of the portal, and studied the creature.

"You know, when things die, I would like them to stay dead." He said, his fist suddenly catching fire.

"It is part of my job."

Ryko blacked out as soon as Hades began to charge.

Hades threw a flaming fist towards the Echidna, who dodged it with ease and attempted to counter with a left punch. Hades grabbed it and slammed it to the ground.

Hades went for a powerful spinning kick. However, the Echidna ducked and twisted his body, hitting Hades with a kick straight into his chin, sending him flying.

The Echidna too the time to rush him and try to get him while he was down, but Hades hopped up, his right fist ignited with white fire, and slammed his fist across the Echidna's face.

The impact was devastating. The Echidna flew through the wall, which led to the outside of the ruin, and skidded in the dirt. Hades was sure he was dead, considering it was one of the more powerful punches he ever threw, when the Echidna rose.

Half the skin on his face was peeled off, hanging gently off of one side of his face. You could see the muscle and red under his skin. He looked like some sort of zombie. He went to touch the muscle on the right side of his face…

And he smiled.

He began to walk towards Hades, an evil glint in his eyes that not even the spirit of the underworld had ever seen.

Ryko slowly awoke, afraid to move. When he finally built up the courage to, he realized that his bones weren't broken. He got up and seemed to be perfectly fine. He looked up at the emeralds in the center of the room.

They blinked all at once, as if to give him a wink.

He smiled and walked through the hole in the wall.

Sadie and A.J felt the shaking of the ruin.

"That made me lose _Angry Birds _!" she exclaimed.

"That seems to be coming from outside the wall. We should probably get down there. And by the way…have you told Ryko what you do down at G.U.N yet?" Sadie smiled.

"No, not yet." she checked her phone.

"Backup is here." she said, putting her phone away. She began to walk out with A.J next together.

"Who did you get? Freedom Fighters? A G.U.N squad?"

"I got one hedgehog."

"One? That's it?"

"Trust me…he's worth about two hundred of them."

Laoch began walking towards the fight scene up ahead. He knew who was here; the energy signals were overwhelming; he also knew that another powerful being was fighting him, one he recognized as the one Ryko had fused with but forgotten his name. It didn't matter.

His longtime enemy was here.

He slowly walked up to the scene. The figure, a black hedgehog with white chest fur, was pretty well matched to his enemy, who had half his face off and a long, deep cut running down his leg.

"Do you feel any pain?" screamed Hades as he flew another punch into the Echidna, who seemed to shake it off as if it were nothing. The Echidna grabbed Hades by the throat and was about to slam him down when his gaze met with a familiar hedgehog. He quickly dropped Hades and advanced towards his old enemy.

"Well, well, well." said Laoch, staring down his enemy. "I'm glad your back. Now I have something to do."

"I can say the same thing. Now we can relive our story…but I aim to change the original ending." He said, slamming Laoch with a punch to the gut.

Ryko watched the whole thing from afar. He didn't want to get involved until now. He dialed a number on his phone.

"Commander."

"Ryko? What's going on? Is Ares dead?"

"Yes, he is. I mean it. But I need a care package dropped at my location."

"Hmm…Runkensa? Why are you down there?"

"I thought we didn't ask questions."

"I guess not. What exactly do you need in the care package?"

"I need a motorcycle in working order and 4 pounds of C4."

"What the hell-"

"We don't ask questions."

"…fine. That's going to cost 200,000 rings-"

"I'll pay for it. Just do it."

The commander sighed.

"Fine. Expect it in 10."

Laoch and Hades were both on the attack, but the Echidna was still holding his own. He could block an amount of attacks they threw in matters of seconds and come right back with a counter-attack.

"Don't you have a buddy like you that could possibly help us?" asked Laoch to Hades, who ducked a flying fist.

"Don't you think I would have already asked him to come? He's in the high council's annual meeting. If he were to leave now, they would have no choice but to banish him to unknown lands." He dodged another punch and connected, just barely, with the Echidna's leg.

"He can't help us."

"Where the hell is Ryko?" he asked, back flipping to avoid a punch.

"Ryko? He's watching the fight from over there." said the Echidna, momentarily stopping to point him out in the distance.

Sadie and A.J finally arrived on the scene to witness the current battle.

"Is that…" asked A.J, already knowing the answer.

"I thought he was dead! And where's Ares?" asked Sadie, looking around.

"Dead." said a voice. They turned around to see Ryko leaning against the ruin wall, watching the sky.

"You killed him?" asked A.J.

"No, I didn't. The Echidna did."

"Speaking of which, shouldn't he be-"

"It was Ares' plan all along to resurrect him. He wasn't being cowardly, he was just stalling so he had enough time to build the Echidna from his DNA. But, his own invention killed him."

"Really? That's a surprise twist. Why don't you get involved in the fight?"

A helicopter flew above them and dropped a package. IT hit the ground with a thud. Ryko hit a button on the container and it folded out, revealing a Harley Davidson with C4 all over it. He picked up a remote and hopped on the motorcycle.

"I am now." He said, driving towards the Echidna with the switch in hand.

"What is he doing?" A.J asked.

"He's gonna jump off the motorcycle and ignite the C4 when it hits the Echidna."

"That is the stupidest thing I have ever-" Sadie silenced her with her hand and smiled.

"I know."

Laoch looked over to see his best friend driving a C4 rigged motorcycle towards them.

"Does he think he's in the _Expendables _or something?" Laoch asked out loud before getting hammered by the Echidna.

"Wait for it…" Ryko said out loud.

He hit 80 mph on his motorcycle before jumping off. It hit the Echidna square in the chest. As soon as Ryko saw it connected he clicked the button on his remote.

The explosion was tremendous. Dirt and ancient stone flew up in the air. Laoch and Hades were blasted backwards and landed 50 yards away from the blast sight. As soon the smoke cleared, a huge crater appeared where the Echidna was standing on impact. In the center was the Echidna, his right leg and both arms completely gone. He was unconscious.

Laoch and Hades walked into the crater. Hades took his right fist and muttered an incantation .

"_Δεν μπορείτε να μετανοήσει για το χάος που έχετε αριστερά._

_Όπως έχω προφέρει αυτές τις λέξεις που έχετε σημειώσει για το θάνατο!_

With that he punched what was left of the Echidna and he melted to dust.

_**EPILOUGE**_

The group was traveling. Well, most of them. Ryko was picked up by gun helicopter and was to be escorted to the hospital to check for injuries. Hades, Laoch, Sadie and A.J were the only ones walking down an empty highway in the middle of a desert.

Suddenly, Anubis Appeared in front of them.

"You summoned me just now?" asked Anubis.

"No, not now…why are you here?"

"I sent him." said a voice. Suddenly, time froze. A familiar hedgehog stood in front of them.

"The council has reformed. You have killed and banished a mortal from Mobius, something that was strictly forbidden." said Apophis.

"He was a menace to our world as well! They had to have seen the danger-" began Anubis, but Apophis stopped him.

"Hey, I'm on your side as well. I was the only one who voted against your death sentence."

Anubis and Hades froze. Where they came from, a death sentence only came in one form.

"May the pale rider have mercy on your souls." Apophis said, departing.

Time began again, but Hades and Anubis were still frozen, fear spread across their faces.

"He's kidding. They haven't sent them in 400,000 years." said Anubis.

A roar from an engine blasted behind them. They whipped around.

Four hedgehogs were driving towards them, all on Harley Davidson motorcycles. One was white, one black, one red and one a very pale. They all wore sunglasses but no helmets. The Harley's were perfectly polished, all of them a sleek black.

"Who are those guys?" asked Laoch.

Hades and Anubis were locked with fear, sweat dripping down their faces. Hades finally had the courage to speak.

"The Horsemen."


End file.
